


Expect the Unexpected

by 1980s_popito



Category: The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across The 8th Dimension (1984)
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-22
Updated: 2018-07-09
Packaged: 2019-01-04 04:46:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 15
Words: 26,869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12161823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/1980s_popito/pseuds/1980s_popito
Summary: "This is still a bit overwhelming," Peggy admitted with a nervous laugh after a while. "Don't worry," Penny reassured, "I feel the same way." "How long have you been here at the Institute?" "Long enough to know that around here, a person needs to always expect the unexpected." (also available on fanfiction.net) (you do not need to be in the fandom to read this)





	1. Part One: Chapter One

**_Expect the Unexpected. Part One: Chapter One._ **

                How often does one fake death? What could compel someone to do it? How does one know if the trick was just a cruel kidnapping of a person, but made the victim actually wish they _were_ dead?

                These were just some of the questions that ran through Buckaroo’s head.

                When he’d found out that Peggy might not be dead, he was in a total state of shock. He’d seen her dead body- or at least he thought he did. But he wasn’t the only one; Mrs. Johnson, Rawhide, Perfect Tommy- they all saw her. The image of her supposed dead body would always be fresh in their minds. Her blonde hair tousled about, her face lifeless and absent of any emotion, her body stiff and cold.

                He’d only wished that she’d actually end up being still alive.

                But now that wish was coming true. How could it? Was it actually possible?

                He wasn’t sure if he hoped it was true or not.

-/-/-

                Buckaroo and his band of Cavaliers had all mourned greatly over the death of their beloved Peggy- but when they found out she might still be alive? At first, everyone was in a state of pure shock? Once the thought had set down into their minds, that’s when they all put their heads together and began to look and search all over the world for her. They had to search _all_ over, since her original death had been caused by Hanoi Xan. That meant she could’ve been anywhere.

                One of those _anywhere_ searches nearly got Buckaroo killed.

                But, three and a half years after Peggy’s death, Rawhide had been leading a project in the deserts of Asia, along with Reno, Pecos and Billy Travers. One night while travelling on horseback, the first three heard their names being called out by someone in the near distance. They all followed the voice, wary of who or what they might find. They eventually tracked down the owner of the voice, three of them looking at them with wide eyes and dropped jaws, the other giving a confused look.

                Standing in front of them, a mix of fear and relief written all over her face, was Margaret “Peggy” Simpson Banzai. She was thinner, paler, and she looked like she’d gone through hell and back- but there was no denying that it was Peggy.

                At first, the group of four had no idea what to do. Once it clicked that Peggy stood before them, they took her to a nearby hospital, since she looked hurt. She was eventually brought to a hospital in New Jersey in America, just as precaution and to make sure she was fine to go out and about. While in the New Jersey hospital, her parents- John and Rosemarie- were contacted by Rawhide, partly for DNA tests to make sure it in fact _was_ Peggy, and not some trick by Xan.

                Once all was confirmed that it was _the_ Peggy, all they had to do was pick her up.

-/-/-

                Mrs. Johnson had lost her best friend that day. That day in the fall of 1981 was supposed to be a happy day. But when she found her best friend dead in her wedding dress, all she could think to do was to get everyone. She remembered crying and screaming, and that she was physically and emotionally unable to speak.

                She felt the way she did when Flyboy died. First her husband, then her best friend. She felt sick for three days after it all.

                But most of all, she felt bad for her boss and friend. She knew what it was like to lose a spouse at such at such a young age, so she had an idea of how he felt. While their deaths were under different circumstances, the hurt and grief over the loss of a spouse was the same.

                That’s why she knew he needed to go with the rest to get Peggy from the hospital.

-/-/-

                Buckaroo Banzai sat behind the desk in his office. His right elbow leaned on his desk, and he cradled his forehead in his right hand. In his left hand and spread all over the desk, were photos and journals. Each picture had Peggy in it, and the journals were the ones he “wrote to her in” to help deal with the grief of her death over the years.

                “I don’t understand,” he mumbled, looking over the newspaper and magazines on the table next to him.

                On each magazine and newspaper was an article or cover about the situation. There were pictures and short interviews, both old ones and new ones. It was on the news. People all over were following what was going on through the media. Sure, people did that anyway for the group of scientists and their band- but it was different this time. This was a personal matter.

                Buckaroo looked up when a knock came from the other side of the wooden doors. One of the double doors creaked open and Mrs. Johnson’s head poked through. He granted her access to the room, in which she walked in, closing the door behind her, then sitting in front of the desk to face him.

                “We’re, uh,” Mrs. Johnson began, “We’re gonna go down to the hospital to get Peggy. Me, Rawhide and Pecos.”

                Buckaroo nodded in understanding. “Alright,” he said in a near whisper.

                “The three of us think you need to come, too.”

                “I don’t know if I’ll be able to handle it…”

                “You’re not alone on that, you know.”

                “It’s different for the rest of you,” Buckaroo claimed, running his hands over his face, “You all loved Peggy a different way than I did. Than I do.”

                “It’s not different than how _I_ felt and still feel about _my_ husband,” Mrs. Johnson argued.

                He looked up at the younger woman, not expecting her to say what she said. “Mrs. Johnson…”

                “Can’t you see how lucky you are? Hundreds, thousands of people lose a spouse every day. Not everyone gets a chance to be with that person again- but you are. Please, just appreciate the opportunity you’ve been given to be with Peggy again.”

                Buckaroo thought over what she said for a moment. “You’re right,” he nodded, “You’re right.”

                “You thought otherwise?” Mrs. Johnson laughed, “Now come on. Let’s all get going.”

-/-/-

                Buckaroo, Mrs. Johnson, Rawhide, and Pecos all walked out of the elevator and onto the floor they were told to go to. Photographers and newscasters tried to follow them up, but hospital security held them back and made them leave unless they were sick or hurt. One security officer followed the four up, both for precaution and safety. He remained by the elevator while the group all walked to the nearest desk.

                “Excuse me?” Rawhide tried to the woman behind the desk.

                The woman looked up at him. “Yes, can I help you?” she asked.

                “My name is Rawhide. I’m from the Banzai Institute. I spoke with someone on the phone about Margaret Simpson Banzai.”

                “Ah, yes. Who’s Mrs. Banzai being released to?”

                “Me,” Buckaroo answered a bit uneasily, “I’m her husband.”

                The woman nodded. “Ok… and what’s your full name?”

                Before anyone could answer, a gentle, feminine voice called out, “Buckaroo?”

                Buckaroo- along with the three others- turned to the familiar voice about fifty feet to the right. When they all looked, there stood Peggy, clad in clean clothes, obviously from the hospital. The two stood at opposite ends of the corridor, staring at each other with happy disbelief. The two began to go as fast as they were allowed toward one another, only stopping when they caught and held the other in their arms.

                Peggy jumped into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist. Buckaroo hugged her tight against his torso, his arms secure around her. She buried her head in the crook of his neck and his shoulder, and he buried his face in her hair. He spun around for a moment, both from the impact and from joy.

                She finally set her legs down on the floor, but kept her arms around his neck, and he kept his arms around her torso. She looked up at him with tear stained cheeks, and he looked down at her with teary eyes. He ran a hand gently through her hair.

                “You’re really alive,” Buckaroo stated softly, “You’re here, you’re alive.”

                Peggy nodded and blinked back tears. “I’m really alive,” she confirmed, “I’m here, I’m alive.”

                “I’m so sorry I didn’t keep you safe that day…”

                “I don’t care. I’m here with you, and that’s the safest place I’ll ever be.”

                “You have no idea how much I’ve wanted to see you just one more time.”

                “Trust me, I do. And I have no intentions of leaving you again,” Peggy smiled up at him.

                Buckaroo looked down at her fondly. “Good, cause I have no intentions of letting you go, my Queen of the Netherlands.”

**This story may or may not be continued…**  



	2. Part One: Chapter Two

**_Expect the Unexpected. Part One: Chapter Two._ **

                “No, not like that!” Perfect Tommy scolded, “The other way!”

                Lady Gillette rolled her eyes. “Tommy, it’s _supposed_ to go this way,” she groaned.

                “No. It’s _not_ supposed to be crooked!”

                “Well, whose fault is that?!”

                Big Norse and Pinky Carruthers entered the room slowly, cautious of what they might find, based off what they could hear from outside the room. “What the _hell_ are you two talking about?” Big Norse asked awkwardly as they entered.

                Perfect Tommy and Lady Gillette looked at the two with confused looks on their faces. “Decorating for when Peggy’s back,” Perfect Tommy answered nonchalantly, “What’d you two think we were talking?”

                “ _I_ don’t even wanna know what we were thinking,” Pinky brushed off, “Rainy Day and Khonsu-Ra are at the gate to let us know when they’re all back.”

                Rainy Day and Khonsu-Ra were two of the most recent interns at the Banzai Institute. Most interns at the Institute didn’t work even a little bit with the main people in charge of the Institute, no less the close circle of people around the Institute’s founder. While this was the case for, probably about every thirty-nine of forty- or even forty-nine of fifty- new interns, this was not the case for Rainy Day and Khonsu-Ra.

                Rainy Day, real name: Andrea Noemi Fusco; she was an unintentional intern. She’d been found by Buckaroo, Mrs. Johnson, Reno, Lady Gillette and Perfect Tommy in a town not far from where the institute was located. When they had found her, she was hurt and out cold, and obviously had some kind of head trauma. Without hesitation, the group brought her back to the Institute for treatment and recuperation. While she was there, she decided to help around the institute, claiming that she did not want to be “useless” while she was there. Those around her saw potential in her in that short amount of time, which led to her being offered an internship and the chance to work her way up to resident. Since she’d been found by the main circle of people at the Institute, she had quickly befriended them, and vice versa, and ended up working with them and being friends with them.

                Khonsu-Ra, real name: Khonsu-Ra Fakhry; he didn’t have quite the same discovery as she did. While the Hong Kong Cavaliers were on a trip to England for a conference, a couple of Perfect Tommy’s old “friends” from Africa had sent a group of three to go after him- and Khonsu-Ra had been one of those three. The young Egyptian man had been forced to accompany the other two, and saw this as an opportunity to get away from the group that was now involved with the World Crime League. While his two formers were truly after the Hong Kong Cavaliers, he was not. He had surrendered himself to the group, showing that _he_ was not their enemy. Perfect Tommy vouched for him being a good kid, saying that he always remembered him being a good kid, only trying to survive. He went back to America with the group, became a United States citizen, and became an intern at the Institute working his way up to resident.

                Rainy Day hadn’t gone to college, while Khonsu-Ra had graduated with a masters at the age of fourteen. She played almost every instrument under the sun, and he was learning how to play bass from her. She spoke about ten languages fluently, and he spoke about nine. They were both ashamed of their past lives and both wanted a fresh start and a second chance. They got that at the Banzai Institute.

                “You two need any more help?” Pinky asked the two bickering blondes.

                “Yeah,” Perfect Tommy blurted out, “Put those banners up straight, would ya?”

                Lady Gillette rolled her eyes. “Why’re you being such a pain in the keister?” she asked with an annoyed tone.

                “More than usual, anyway,” Reno Nevada mumbled as he entered the room, “What’s their problem?”

                “Not exactly sure,” Big Norse answered honestly, “All I know is that Pinky and I heard them yelling about something, and we came to see what it is.”

                Pinky nodded. “They seem to be going on about some banner.”

                Reno nodded and took a deep breath. “I just know that I heard dumb and dumber here yelling from the garden.”

                “It’s a miracle they haven’t ripped each other’s heads off.”

                “Am I allowed to?” Lady Gillette called to the three, her voice hopeful and angry, “Cause you all know I can, no problem!”

                “I’m getting Rainy Day and Red River Daddy,” Pinky informed exasperatedly, “I’ll take her post at the gate with Khonsu-Ra. Just make sure they don’t kill each other, ok?”

                “Can’t promise that, friend,” Reno answered as the two continued to argue and as their friend clad in his usual pink getup walked out of the room.

-/-/-

                Peggy stared out the windows of the car in the same manner a curious child would. No one could blame he, though, considering the circumstances. It was obvious that she was eager to get home, and they were all happy to have her back home. This went through the mind of all five people that sat in the car, and none of them could be happier at the moment.

                “I’ve never been so happy to take a long drive through New Jersey,” Peggy smiled, “But I am eager to get home, as well.”

                “There are a lot of new interns,” Mrs. Johnson informed.

                Peggy smiled eagerly. “Really?”

                “The Institute’s gotten much larger,” Buckaroo told her, “I think we’ve already got thirty-five new interns in the last year.”

                She gave an impressed look. “That’s so great!”

                All while Peggy was gone, she wondered about her home. Thoughts like the ones she had of her home were what kept her going when she didn’t want to, and couldn’t find any other reason to. She would think about her friends, her family, her husband, her parents, _her home_ \- all the things she loved. When things looked bleak for her- which was a lot- she’d just think about all the things she loved and cared about, and she’d be able to smile, despite her situation. Like said, it was what made her last all those years- that, and the hope that one day she might be able to see those things again.

                And now she was.

                “Just a heads up,” Pecos began, “We got something planned for the two of you at some point this week.”

                Peggy gave the excited look of a child, just like she always had. “Ooh, when?” she asked eagerly, causing her husband to laugh a bit.

                “If both of you are up for it and as long as everything goes planned, tomorrow,” Rawhide answered.

                Peggy looked to her husband. “Can we?”

                Buckaroo gave her a loving smile. “Of course we can,” he answered, “What is it, anyway?”

                “That’s for us to know and you two to find out,” Mrs. Johnson smirked.

                Peggy looked around at those that sat in the car with her. _I’m so happy to be back,_ she thought with a smile.

-/-/-

                Rainy Day and Red River Daddy entered the large room- at least one of the large rooms- that the Institute used for recreation. As they walked down the corridor, they could hear two familiar voices arguing with each other back and forth. The two tried to figure out why and what the two were actually arguing about from one of the Institute rec rooms, but came up dry. So with that, they just decided to try and calm the two down like Pinky had told them they’d be doing.

                “Ok,” Red River Daddy called out as he entered the room, “Why did Pinky come take me from a self-defense class I was doing with some interns?”

                “And why was I taken from my shift at the front gate?” Rainy Day asked, the same confusion the former had in her own tone.

                Big Norse pointed to the reason. “Them,” she clarified.

                Rainy Day and Red River Daddy looked over to where Perfect Tommy and Lady Gillette were. The two blonde’s still argued back and forth with each other, completely oblivious to those around them in the room now- including the two that both had a budding romantic relationship with. They were both either yelling or speaking in a loud tone of voice- not quite yelling, but just nearly there- over whatever they were actually still disputing over.

                “You don’t need to be so picky about the banner, you know,” Lady Gillette tried angrily, “It’s just a stupid banner!”

                “It is _not_ just a banner!” Perfect Tommy argued.

                “Then what is it?”

                “It’s a sign to show all those in attendance the major importance of whatever event is happening.”

                “Why do we even need a banner, anyway? I always hated those things.”

                “Maybe cause you have no taste.”

                Lady Gillette- along with everyone else in the room- gave a shocked look at his statement. “Excuse me?” she asked, obviously offended by what he had said.

                “You heard me,” Perfect Tommy challenged in a growl.

                She dropped all that was in her hands and held them up in the hair in surrender. “Fine- do it yourself, then!” She then turned and began to storm out the room, stopping midway and looking at him again. “And you go straight to hell, you bottle blond!” She then turned around once more, and stormed past those who had been watching.

                Reno Nevada, Big Norse, Read River Daddy and Rainy Day all watched as Lady Gillette stormed out of the room. Once she was gone, the group of four then looked over to Perfect Tommy. All was quiet at the moment in the room, and the four others who’d been watching the argument all tried to figure out what to do. This was part of the reason that the two new bystanders had been summoned, but at the moment, they were all pretty much in a state of shock.

                “So,” Reno breathed out heavily, “Who’s gonna take who, huh?”

                “I’ll go after Lady Gillette,” Red River Daddy volunteered then rushed out the room after her.

                “I’ll go with you!” Big Norse chimed in and followed him out.

                “Good thing I was gonna take Tommy anyway,” Rainy Day chuckled, “Wanna help me out, Reno?”

                Reno shrugged. “Sure,” he agreed, “I won’t make you deal with the hothead alone.”

                As Red River Daddy and Big Norse went after an angry Lady Gillette, and Rainy Day and Reno Nevada went toward a pacing Perfect Tommy- the car in which Buckaroo, Peggy, Rawhide, Mrs. Johnson, and Pecos pulled through the gates and onto the grounds of the Banzai Institute.

**_This may or may not be continued…_ **


	3. Part One: Chapter Three

**_Expect the Unexpected. Part One: Chapter Three._ **

                The group of five got out from their car and walked out onto the grounds of the Banzai Institute. As soon as Peggy touched the ground, something felt different about the Institute- a good different. It was as if her just being there again after so long made the whole place brighter. Of Crouse, she didn’t and couldn’t tell this difference herself, but those with her and throughout the grounds all felt something different.

                “Oh my God,” Peggy breathed out happily as she looked out in front of her.

                Buckaroo walked up beside her, a concerned look on his face as he looked down at her. “Are you alright?” he asked a bit nervously, not really bothering to hide his concern.

                She looked up at him, smiling brightly; he noticed her teary eyes. “I’m wonderful. I’m so happy to be home with you, my family, and everyone I love.” She turned to face the three with them. “I’m so happy I have my family back.”

                Rawhide, Pecos and Mrs. Johnson all gave smiles at their friend- their sister. It was absolutely wonderful for the three to have her back, even though it was a bit overwhelming at first. They could all remember the blonde’s funeral clearly, so when they found out it was really her, they didn’t really know what to do and were completely overwhelmed. What does one do when they find out someone they love who they thought was killed isn’t really dead?

                You must admit, it’s not the most common scenario to deal with.

                Although. This was the Banzai Institute for crying out loud. They all had pretty much learned to expect the unexpected- but even this was too unexpected for them.

                “Look at this place,” Peggy said amazedly, “It’s grown since I was last here!”

                Buckaroo gave a small smile at her reaction. He was ecstatic that she was back and that she was still as happy as she always had been- but it also made him curious. She’d been gone for years now, and from what he’d been told, she’d been in bad physical shape when she was found. There was no doubt in his mind that she had endured at least one traumatizing experience while she was gone- he didn’t like to admit that, but he knew it. What concerned was how she was still who she was before she was taken away from them, even after all that he could presumed had happened.

                Granted, he was happy that she was so happy to be home and she was the same way she’d always been. It made him happy to see her again, period. But she was talking and acting like she’d been going for a two week trip. Being a neuroscientist, he couldn’t help but wonder why. When people had been kidnapped and held for years, wasn’t it always the case that they were different than how they’d once been?

                _Is she pretending for us?_ He thought, _Is she trying to act like everything is alright?_

                “Ok,” Mrs. Johnson began, gaining everyone’s attention, “The little thing we have planned for you two, isn’t quite ready. It’ll be ready tomorrow though. Is that alright?”

                “It’s fine,” Peggy agreed, “I kinda just wanted some time alone with Buckaroo today, anyway. Is that alright?” She looked up at her husband hopefully.

                “Great,” Buckaroo smiled at her, then looked up to their friends and colleagues, “If something happens that needs me, make sure to use the Go-Phones.”

                With nods of approval, Buckaroo and Peggy walked off from the group and to another part of the Institute, making sure to keep each other as close as they could to each other.

                “Ok,” Rawhide breathed out, “Who here volunteers to go to the rec room and see what’s up?”

                “Team effort,” Pecos suggested with a shrug.

-/-/-

                “Lady Gillette,” Big Norse tried calling out to her friend.

                Lady Gillette kept walking and rudely waved off the summon with her right hand.

                “Lady Gillette, _stop_ ,” Red River Daddy demanded in a stern voice that one almost would use with a disobedient child.

                There had been a budding relationship between Lady Gillette and Red River Daddy. They had been seeing each other exclusively for two months, but they were not officially a couple just yet. They were good for each other, and for a number of reasons. She had some temper issues, and he had always been able to deal with them and calm her down a bit. They were both extremely strong and tough, so they could relate to one another. They both had strong and outgoing personalities, the kind where it’s like, “what you see is what you get”, and they could appreciate that in one another. They just worked well together.

                That was why she stopped when _he_ called to her.

                Red River Daddy and Big Norse then ran up to Lady Gillette, who looked about ready to pop. Her hands were clenched, making them look like cannon balls due to her black gloves. Her naturally blonde hair- though cut extremely short on one side, long on the other- covered a third of her face. Her red coat hung limply from her figure, the edges and her hood no longer flowing from the wind she created as she stormed off. Her movements were sharp as she turned to face the two.

                “Why should I stop?” Lady Gillette demanded angrily.

                “Cause you’ll hurt someone if you don’t,” Red River Daddy, “We don’t want an intern to suffer for your anger. Now what happened?”

                “He’s being ridiculous,” Lady Gillette answered roughly.

                “Who is?”

                “Tommy!”

                Red River Daddy looked over to the other woman next to him. “Help me out here?”

                Big Norse threw her hands up. “All I know is that she and Tommy were decorating the rec room for the ceremony, and they were arguing about some banner,” she recalled.

                Lady Gillette shook her head. “No, he kept _complaining_ about how I couldn’t get the damn thing straight.”

                Red River Daddy gave a questioning look. “Is this for that party-slash-ceremony thing for Buckaroo and Peggy?”

                “Yeah.”

                “Why is there a banner, anyway?”

                “It’s not about the banner, Red!” Lady Gillette burst, “It’s about how childish he’s being about it!”

                “No offense,” Big Norse tread lightly, “But you’re both being childish, I think.”

                Maybe it was just them, but Big Nose and Red River Daddy couldn’t quite see why Lady Gillette was so mad. Sure, it was known throughout the whole Institute that she and Perfect Tommy had a relationship similar to two bickering siblings, that was no secret- but to be fair, sometimes, their arguments went a little overboard. In all honesty, though, it was all expected, considering they both had extremely strong personalities and stubborn attitudes- but even with those things, they were both essential parts of the Institute and the people that kept it standing.

                Lady Gillette thought over what was said by her blonde friend. _Maybe she’s right,_ she thought. She didn’t like feeling wrong about something- especially when it involved the possibility of her having to apologize to Perfect Tommy. To be fair, she didn’t like apologizing to anyone, but knew she had to- but she _really_ didn’t like having to apologize to him!

                “Maybe we did,” Lady Gillette admitted stubbornly, like a child who didn’t like admitting they were wrong.

-/-/-

                “Will you calm down?” Rainy Day asked for about the third time.

                “No,” Perfect Tommy answered stubbornly and like a five year old.

                Perfect Tommy paced back and forth in the room angrily. Or was it anxiously? Either way, he didn’t care, and it made Rainy Day and Reno Nevada dizzy. The two had been trying to get their pacing friend to just stop and take a breather, and to see what he was so up in arms about. They would be able to do just that, if the boy was just stop pacing for one damn minute!

                “What did Lady G do that’s got you so fired up?” Reno asked.

                Perfect Tommy finally stopped pacing, but his movements were as sharp as a knife. “She won’t listen to how we need the banner placed,” he claimed, annoying in his voice.

                Reno and Rainy Day shared a look. “That’s it?” Rainy Day asked, her confusion obvious in her tone.

                “It’s a banner,” Reno stated, “I never even understood the point of banners.”

                Perfect Tommy shook his head and ran his hands over his face. _They don’t get it,_ he thought, _I thought Reno would’ve at least understood._

                It wasn’t about the banner- to Perfect Tommy, banners were stupid. It was about a completely different thing and something much more important. How did they all think that it was still all about that banner?! It was something much more important, and for a day that many there had been waiting for and hoping would actually happen.

                “It’s not about the damn banner!” Perfect Tommy informed, rather loudly at that- loud enough to send an echo through the room.

                Reno and Rainy Day flinched at his volume and their eyes widened a bit. A mix of concern and question formed their faces- from the female of the trio, it was more concern on her face for that man she’d been falling for, and vice versa. The two exchanged strange looks, mostly from the corners of their eyes, then looked back at the blond. When the blond young man caught the more concerned facial expression on the young woman he’d been falling for just as hard as she was for him, he sent her a quiet, apologetic look.

                Despite the budding relationship between Perfect Tommy and Rainy Day, she didn’t know him as well as Reno did, not yet at least. For this reason, it was Reno who approached the younger man first. “Calm down,” he said simply, “You’re treating us like enemies here. We’re not. We’re your friends. Now if it’s not about the banner, then what’s it about?”

                Perfect Tommy let out a heavy sigh. “I’ve been friends with Buckaroo for a long while now. So have you,” he began, “And you remember how he was when we thought Peggy was dead. I hated seeing such a good friend of mine hurt that much, you know?”

                Reno Nevada finally understood, and he nodded to confirm so. “Yeah, I know,” he confirmed.

                “Yeah. So I knew that something should be done for them when they got back. That’s why I’m making a big think a’ this.”

                “I understand. Really, I do. Hell, I remember how bad we were hurting when we thought she passed. I remember you telling me about that day you, Rawhide, Mrs. Johnson, Pinky and Professor Hikita found him in his office. But either way, you shouldn’t have snapped at Lady Gillette like you did.”

                Perfect Tommy barked out a humorless laugh. “Yeah. Pretty childish, huh?”

                “Just apologize to her,” Rainy Day shrugged, “If you tell her what you told us, she’ll understand.”

                Perfect Tommy hated apologizing to people. It wasn’t very often he had to- he was perfect, after all! But he was pretty sure that Reno and Rainy Day were right about this. All he could do was nod at them, agreeing that they were right; it probably would actually kill him to verbally admit they were right.

**_This story may or may not be continued…_ **

               

               


	4. Part One: Chapter Four

**_Expect the Unexpected. Part One: Chapter Four._ **

                Rawhide and Pecos entered the rec room a few minutes after Perfect Tommy and Lady Gillette had- a bit hesitantly- reconciled; Mrs. Johnson had gone off to check on how food for the event was coming along.

                When Pecos and Rawhide entered the rec room, they were in awe of the appearance. There were bright spring colored as well as white streamers and fabrics all over the place. Flowers from the Institute gardens were everywhere. Older and more recent photos were pinned to the walls. An arbor of red roses and vines covered a table set for two, displayed to all those that would be seated in the room at the many other tables. A centerpiece sat on each table; a beaker being used as a vase that held three different colored flowers, each centerpiece having different colors than the next.

                “Wow,” Rawhide said flatly; his voice was always like that, despite whatever emotion he was feeling. Very rarely did he voice seem animated.

                “This is incredible!” Pecos smiled excitedly, “But where’s the ceremony gonna be?”

                “We had a few interns who’re studying botany spruce up the garden,” Red River Daddy, “And we made an arbor just like that one over there for it.”

                “Who’s actually performing the ceremony?”

                “Professor Hikita,” Perfect Tommy answered, “Apparently, he’s got a license to perform a wedding ceremony. Who knew?”

                Pecos gave a confused look as she looked around the room, then at Red River Daddy. “Where’s the banner that you and Khonsu-Ra made?”

                “Don’t ask!” Reno Nevada, Lady Gillette, Perfect Tommy, Big Norse, Red River Daddy and Rainy Day all said loudly at the same time.

-/-/-

                “Professor Hikita!” Peggy called happily to the elder man.

                Professor Tohichi Hikita smiled and approached the woman that he’d always seen as a daughter. “Peggy,” he said just as happily as they hugged one another.

                Professor Hikita and Peggy always had a great relationship. He had never married and had no children, so along with Buckaroo, she was the child he never had. He had liked her ever since he had first met her, and vice versa. They always got along well, and cared for each other like family. It was he who’d funded the _Margaret ‘Peggy’ Simpson Banzai Memorial Garden_ when she’d- when they _thought_ she had passed away. Aside from Buckaroo and her parents, it was he who missed her most.

                The two collided into a hug, happy to see on another again after so many years. “It’s been so long!” Peggy said, “How have you been?”

                The older man shrugged as they pulled apart. “As good as I can be,” Professor Hikita laughed, “I am getting old, Peggy. It is not a fun process.”

                “Professor, you’re not old.”

                “Whatever you wish to tell yourself. May I speak alone with Buckaroo for a moment?”

                Peggy nodded and walked a distance from the two men, out of earshot, but still able to see them. Buckaroo didn’t know what the Professor wanted to speak to him about, based off of his knowledge on all the present going-on’s around the Institute; it was a known fact that he knew all that was going on around _his_ institute. It was his baby, his responsibility- it just made sense. But the possibility of not knowing something that might be wrong at his institute- well that just made him a bit nervous.

                “Is there a problem, Hikita-san?” Buckaroo asked his older, a bit concerned.

                Professor Hikita quickly shook his head. “No, no. I am just wondering how Peggy is,” he answered.

                Buckaroo took a quick glance at his blonde bride as she admired photos and awards on the wall and gave a small smile. “She seems to be fine. Like her usual self.” Despite his small smile, his tone said otherwise.

                Professor Hikita could sense his tone of voice. “You do not sound as happy as you should.”

                The younger man was silent for a moment. “I’m concerned for her mental state. While I’m happy she’s been coping with her return, I fear she’s holding back.”

                “She may be trying to move on from anything that happened.”

                Buckaroo again looked over at Peggy, who felt his stare and met his gaze, smiling at him. He couldn’t help but smile back at her. “I hope that’s it.”

-/-/-

                Doctor Sidney Zwibel, or more commonly known around the Institute as “New Jersey”, practically ran across the grounds. He was wearing his usual cowboy getup, complete with his wooly chaps and large cowboy hat. He held onto his hat a few times as he ran, making sure it wouldn’t blow away both from the already existent wind pattern mixed with the force of the wind he created as he ran. In the hand not holding the edge of his hat, he held some papers that he had stapled together to keep them in order and together. He was running so fast that he nearly knocked down Pinky Carruthers.

                “Whoa, _whoa,_ Doc!” Pinky called out as he regained his balance, “How you doin’, Doc? Where’s the fire?”

                “Did they come back with Peggy yet?” New Jersey asked in a rushed tone.

                “Yeah,” Khonsu-Ra answered, “About ten or fifteen minutes ago.”

                Pinky nodded. “Why? What’s the problem, Jersey?”

                “Penny.”

                Realization and understanding hit Pinky Carruthers like a truck.

                Penny Priddy was the long lost twin sister of Peggy Banzai. The two had been separated at a very young ago after a fire in their home. As they got older, they did not remember one another, but each felt that there was a part of them that was missing. For the longest time, neither knew what that missing feeling was- but Penny had found out that it was her long lost twin sister that had been the missing feeling once she had arrived at the Institute just a little while before the Lectroids from Planet Ten attack.

                When Penny Priddy had arrived at the Institute- after being released from jail in Buckaroo’s custody- she’d found out about her twin sister. As time continued on, she would ask him about Peggy, so she could feel like she really _did_ have a sister. It was the best she had for the past couple of years- at least, until now.

                “Yes. Penny,” New Jersey confirmed, “Do you know where she is?”

                “No,” Pinky shook his head.

                Khonsu-Ra thought for a moment. “If she has her Go-Phone with her,” he began, “Can’t one of you just track her location with your own?”

                The two other men thought this over and nodded. “This is why I like having you around,” Pinky said honestly, “At least one of the reasons. You’re also pretty good company here at the gate.”

                Pinky had taken Khonsu-Ra under his wing; that was part of the reason that the younger man worked so close with the main circle of those at the Institute. It was the two of them who ran the gate watch schedule- well, more like Pinky was in charge, and Khonsu-Ra was his assistant and even his “apprentice”- and it was they who spent the most time on security. While Pinky had not been at the Institute as long as people like Rawhide and Reno Nevada, he still knew the ropes at this point, and would show them to Khonsu-Ra.

                Khonsu-Ra nodded. “Thank you,” he said quietly and humbly.

                “So Penny knows about Peggy, at least,” New Jersey pointed out, “But vice-versa, that’s not the case.”

                “It’ll be a shock to the system for both of them either way,” Pinky confirmed, “Khonsu-Ra, you go and find someone to take our positions here at the gate. When you do, just look for Penny. Try to use a Go-Phone tracker.” The younger man nodded at his instructions and ran off.

                “What’re we doing?” New Jersey asked.

                Pinky shrugged. “Either to stall Buckaroo and Peggy, or to find Penny. Whichever comes first.”

-/-/-

                Penny Priddy sat hunched over a book and table in the Banzai Institute library. She glanced over to the notebook on her right, wrote something from the textbook down on her page, and looked back to the textbook. All of a sudden, her gaze moved to stare at the air, and her whole body froze and became tense. She didn’t know what had come over her, but she felt different. She didn’t know this feeling, and had no idea what it fully was- but for some reason, she felt complete. She couldn’t explain it, couldn’t even fully comprehend it, but that would’ve been the only way she could’ve possibly described it.

                All she knew was that something felt complete in her.

                Penny set her pencil down in the crevice of her book, using it as a bookmark as she closed the textbook. She shut her composition book, placing her textbook on top of it as weight to keep it closed. She got up from her seat and walked over to the nearest window. She hugged herself and slowly tucked a few strands of her bob-length blonde hair behind her ear. She looked through the window and out over the property of the institute.

                “Why do I feel like this?” she asked herself as she tugged on the edges of her sleeves.

-/-/-

                Buckaroo and Peggy walked past the Institute library, keeping each other as close as possible. They talked with each other like newly married lovers on their honeymoon, gushing over anything and everything that came up in their conversation.

                As they walked, she stopped suddenly and looked around at her surroundings. She had already been feeling different- a good different- ever since she’d been reunited with her husband and friends, but this was different. She had felt as if a piece of her had been filled after walking onto the Institute grounds, and knew that it was for the fact that she was now home with her family- but now she felt whole. She couldn’t quite understand it, but she had to admit that she kind of liked it.

                “Is something wrong?” Buckaroo asked her when she stopped walking suddenly.

                Peggy looked up at him. “Yeah, I’m fine,” she confirmed, “I just got this weird feeling.”

                “Good weird or bad weird?”

                She thought for a moment. “A good weird. It’s probably just my excitement to be back here.”

**_This story may or may not be continued…_ **


	5. Part One: Chapter Five

**_Expect the Unexpected. Part One: Chapter Five._ **

                “Where does the tracker on her Go-Phone say she is?” Pinky asked as they walked.

                New Jersey studied his own Go-Phone. “Looks like she’s in the library,” he examined, “Or at least her Go-Phone is.”

                “I’d rather you not put it like that.”

                The city cowboy gave an apologetic look. “Sorry.”

                Pinky nodded. “I meant to ask you- what were those papers you were carrying?”

                “Oh! They’re medical papers for both Peggy and Penny. Their health history, family history, current health status, DNA test, et cetera, et cetera.”

                New Jersey thought it would be best to have the medical papers for both sisters together. It was a wise decisions, considering the situation- but this task was easier to be said than to be done. Taking into consideration their childhood separation and their adult life situations, this task was definitely not an easy one. Thankfully for him, he’d been given total control over this task, and was given help from interns around the Institute who planned on getting involved in the medical field, and even forensics. Another thing that helped was that he was given access to all resources at the Institute, past and present- and even future- that would help him complete the files. Due to his exceptional work in these two medical files, he was partial control over any past, present and future medical files that they came across.

                “It’s just like the kind all the interns and residents here have,” New Jersey shrugged, “I figured they’d both be here another long while, so why not?”

                “And you’re keeping their files together cause they’re sisters?” Pinky asked.

                “That. And cause I’ve never been too good at telling identical twins apart. So if I’m with one and can’t tell which one it is, I have both files.”

                Pinky barked out a laugh. “Really?” His voice showed his obvious amusement.

                New Jersey rubbed his neck embarrassedly. “Yeah, really.”

-/-/-

                Penny gathered up her notebooks and placed all her pens and pencils in their case. She took her things into her arms, her Go-Phone in her pocket, and headed toward the exit of the library. As she signed out, her Go-Phone started to notify her. She quickly finished signing out then went outside to see why it was going off. She set her books down on the steps and took out the Go-Phone, picking up a call that was coming up.

                “Hello?” Penny asked in greeting.

                _“Penny?”_ she heard in a familiar voice, _“It’s Pinky Carruthers.”_

                “Hi, Pinky. What’s up?”

                “ _Are you at the Institute library?”_

                She looked behind her at the entrance. “Yeah. How’d you know that?”

                There was silence for a moment. _“New Jersey and I may have tracked your Go-Phone’s location…”_

                “Why?” Penny asked curiously.

                “ _Cause we need to talk to you,”_ Pinky answered, “ _It’s important. Can you stay there till Jersey and I get to the library?”_

                “Yeah, sure. I can wait for you two here. What’s up?”

                _“We’ll explain when we get to you.”_

Before the call was ended, Penny heard a certain doctor say, _“I really hate the word_ we _sometimes.”_

-/-/-

                Five minutes later, Pinky Carruthers and Sidney “New Jersey” Zwibel approached the entrance of the Banzai Institute Library. As they walked up to it, they saw one Miss Penny Priddy writing something down in one of her notebooks. She looked up when she could hear their approaching footsteps, shut her notebook, and put away her pens and pencils. She gathered her belongings in her arms and stood up to greet the two men she’d befriended over her time at the Institute.

                Penny Priddy had become friends with those in the main circle of the Institute since she had arrived there. She was still quiet and shy at times around the group, still feeling out of place at times in their circle, but aside from that, she had become close with the group and vice versa. To her, it felt nice to have friends and even a family again.

                “So what’d you two wanna talk to me about?” penny asked.

                Pinky Carruthers and New Jersey shared a concerned look. “Well, you see, Penny,” New Jersey struggled, “Someone came back to the Institute today. You should meet her.”

                Penny nodded. “Ok. Where is she, then? Do I know her?”

                “She’s with Buckaroo,” Pinky answered, then glanced at New Jersey for help, then back at Penny, “And, well, you kinda know her.”

                “Ok. Then should we go?” She began to walk forward.

                New Jersey and Pinky rushed to stop her, holding their hands out to block her. “We need to talk to you about her first,” Pinky informed.

                Penny gave the two men a stern look. “Ok,” she breathed out, “What’s going on here? Why’re you two acting so strange about this mystery girl with Buckaroo? You’re acting like I have a thing with him or something.”

                Sure, after the whole Lectroids from Planet Ten fiasco- or more like from the Eighth Dimension, since that was their prison and the Black Lectroids were from Planet Ten- Buckaroo Banzai and Penny Priddy had a brief fling, but it only lasted two weeks. They both realized a few things that made them both know they didn’t and couldn’t stay together. After they both took these things into consideration, they decided and agreed to keep their relationship strictly to three labels that are as followed: friends, colleagues, and former in-laws.

                “Look, Penny,” New Jersey tried to find the words to say, “It’s just that… well, you and this person meeting will be a major shock to the system for both of you.”

                “Ok,” Penny shrugged, “Can’t you just explain the situation to both of us- whatever it is- so that way, it won’t be as much of a shock.”

                New Jersey shifted awkwardly. “It’s really not that easy, Peggy.” His eyes widened right after the name came out of his mouth. He felt his heart begin to pound in his chest.

                Penny did a double take. “What? Did you just say _Peggy?”_

                “What? No,” Pinky scoffed, “I heard him say Penny. _Didn’t you, Doc?”_

                “Uh, yeah,” New Jersey stuttered, “Yeah, I said _Penny._ Why on Earth would I say _Peggy?”_

                “I don’t know. Why would you?”

                “I guess we’re still not completely used to the fact you look so much like her,” Pinky tried to chuckle, but felt that he was failing.

                The blonde gave a skeptical look. “Alright. So what’d you two wanna talk to me about then?”

-/-/-

                Khonsu-Ra rushed into the rec room, breathing heavily from running all over the grounds of the Institute. When he entered the room, he attracted the attention of all those in it- that being Lady Gillette, Red River Daddy, Perfect Tommy, Rainy Day, Big Norse, Rawhide, Reno Nevada and Pecos- receiving questioning look from all of them. As he struggled to catch his breath after running so much without taking even a ten second break, the group all rushed over to him, all with some kind of worried expression on each of their faces.

                “Hey, relax there,” Red River Daddy told him gently, “What’s got you so outta breath?”

                “Take a deep breath,” Big Norse commanded.

                Khonsu-Ra took a few deep breaths like he was told, finally catching his breath again. “Alright,” he breathed, “I am fine now.” He felt embarrassed, but tried to ignore it, knowing he was among his friends.

                “Good,” Reno confirmed, “Now what’s you got so out of breath, there?”

                Khonsu-Ra took another deep breath. “Do any of you know where Penny is?”

                “Yeah, she told me she was spending the day in the library,” Rainy Day nodded, “Why?”

                “New Jersey approached Pinky Carruthers and I at the gate looking for her. He wanted to make sure she knew about Peggy Banzai’s return.”

                “Well, who was supposed to tell Penny about it?” Rawhide asked, now concerned about the situation at hand.

                Almost instinctively, everyone looked to the second youngest man present, who at first seemed oblivious to everyone’s stares.

                Once Perfect Tommy felt too many pairs of eyes on him- for once- he looked from one to the next. “I wasn’t supposed to tell her!” he denied quickly, “Remember? You guys all said that after that whole fiasco with the system changes and everything, I couldn’t be trusted to remember to tell anyone anything that important just yet!”

                The group all thought for a moment, then all nodded, remembering that terrible event. “He’s right,” Lady Gillette confirmed, “Cause we all agreed that after that system failure and after-“

                Perfect Tommy held up his hands for her to stop. “Don’t bring it back up!” His ears turned red and his cheeks turned an embarrassed shade of pink, causing Rainy Day to giggle.

                “If it wasn’t him,” Rawhide began, “Then who was supposed to tell Penny about Peggy?”

                “Um,” Pecos stuttered nervously, her face bright red, “I think I was…”

-/-/-

                “Wait, wait, wait,” Penny tried, “You’re saying that my twin sister- who’s supposed to be dead- is _alive_ and _here?!_ How’s that even possible?!”

                New Jersey and Pinky had finally gained the courage and the words to tell Penny about Peggy being on the grounds of the Institute. The two men were a bit shocked to find out that she had no knowledge at all of the return of her sister, but decided to try their best and to go with it. They explained to her the whole situation, starting all the way back to when she’d been found in Asia. She’d taken the whole thing better than they would’ve thought, but they couldn’t help but wonder how or what could happen when the two girls saw each other after so many years- after not seeing each other practically their whole lives.

                Penny stopped walking and froze in her spot suddenly. “Oh my gosh,” she said in a barely audible whisper when she saw two people walking toward her- one of the two people looking exactly like her.

-/-/-

                “I don’t know,” Peggy teased, “I think you look pretty handsome a few years older. But you should cut your hair.” She ran a hand through his hair, messing it up slightly, laughing as she did so.

                Buckaroo shook his head a bit, laughing with her. “Well, better _I_ aged than _you_ , I’d say,” he suggested.

                The two continued to laugh as they continued to the living quarters. They’d been walking slowly the whole way across the large piece of land, but picked up their pace once the building was in their sights. But suddenly, her speed had decreased over a period of ten seconds until she came to a complete stop, freezing in her tracks.

                “Buckaroo,” Peggy said quietly, not looking up at him, but only straight ahead of her,” Why is there another me over there?”

**_This story may or may not be continued…_ **

               


	6. Part One: Chapter Six

**_Expect the Unexpected. Part One: Chapter Six._ **

                Penny Priddy and Peggy Banzai stood frozen in their tracks, staring at each other with wide eyes. They walked a bit closer to each other, slowly and cautiously. Sidney “New Jersey” Zwibel, Pinky Carruthers, and Buckaroo Banzai stood around them- all with expressions of shock and wonder on their faces. The three men watched the two women closely, ready to aid if something happened. None of the three knew or had any idea of what could happen, but they went by one of the many sayings that went around the Institute, one of which applied right now: _Expect the unexpected._

                To make the situation even more tense, the group from the rec room all approached the group of five. They were in a rush of their own, but all came to a sudden halt when they approached the group and saw the situation. They realized that what they had to say no longer applied.

                Just as they stopped, as if to add insult to injury, Mrs. Johnson also approached, but stopped when she saw the large group, eyes wide and jaw slightly dropped.

                “Is this awkward, or is that just me?” Rainy Day whispered to the person standing closest to her.

                Khonsu-Ra nodded in agreement. “It is _not_ just you, Rainy Day,” he answered in the same whisper.

                Everyone stood silently, cautiously watching for what might happen next. Everyone’s gaze moved back and forth between the two girls- the two very identical girls- and even each other. No one moved. No one spoke. No one knew what to say to try and break the tension or to bring the situation back to control.

                As if on cue, Billy Travers now approached the group, papers all stuffed into his hands. He was in search of Buckaroo Banzai and Big Norse specifically, in need to discuss something in the computer system. He had been calling to them from a distance to attract their attention, stopping when he got closer to the small crowd. He stood awkwardly for a moment, wondering how he could try to cut in and say what he needed to say and inform to all those present of.

                “Um,” Billy hesitated, “I don’t mean to break up this little… whatever this is… but I got something you might wanna hear.”

                Buckaroo looked over to Billy. “What is it?” he asked.

                “Ok, remember how someone tried to break through and get into our computer system?”

                “Of course.”

                “Well, they tried it again.”

                This caught the attention of- almost everyone; a couple were still distracted, and with good reason. The only two who had not reacted to the young man’s words were Peggy Banzai and Penny Priddy, who still stood trying to comprehend the person they stood opposite from. Neither of the girls spoke, almost as if they were in a trance. Buckaroo continued to take glances at them cautiously as he walked closer to Billy.

                “Did they get through?” Buckaroo asked him urgently.

                Billy shook his head. “No,” he confirmed, “But they got deeper in that last time, even with the more secure system we figured out.”

                “Do you know who’s trying to get in?” Big Norse asked in a quiet voice, still a bit in shock herself.

                Again, Billy shook his head. “Not really. A few interns are trying to find a digital footprint as we speak.”

                “Why do I feel this is the doing of the World Crime League?” Perfect Tommy asked in a skeptic voice.

                Buckaroo nodded in agreement. “I don’t doubt that one bit,” he agreed.

                “Can I see those?” Big Norse asked, pointing to the papers that were in the young man’s hands.

                Billy looked down at his papers, nodded, then handed them to her. “Yeah, here. There were a few things I couldn’t fully get in them, and in the computer room. Maybe you can.”

                Everyone’s thought for the original situation were partly focused on the new problem. It seemed that both Peggy and penny had recovered a bit from their initial shock. Those in the area now either had one or both situations on their mind. The only thing to do now was to see who would handle what situation- including finishing up the last minute details for the surprise ceremony they’d planned on doing.

                “Ok,” Buckaroo Banzai began with a heavy sigh, “Mrs. Johnson, would you take Peggy and Penny to the bunkhouse?”

                Mrs. Johnson nodded knowingly. “Of course,” she agreed.

                Buckaroo nodded and looked to the two cowboys. “Rawhide, would you mind going with them? You too, New Jersey?”

                “Sure,” both Rawhide and New Jersey agreed simply before walking off with the three women.

                “Pinky, you and Khonsu-Ra can take your positions back at the front gate. Billy, Big Norse, Tommy, Reno and Pecos- if you would all come with me to the control room. Rainy Day, Lady Gillette and Red River Daddy- you may go back to what you were doing previously, or even help in the bunkhouse.”

                With their fearless leader’s instructions, everyone in the crowd of the main circle of the Institute all dispersed.

-/-/-

                Rainy Day and Lady Gillette decided that they would go to the bunkhouse and help Mrs. Johnson, Rawhide and New Jersey with the twin sisters; Red River Daddy had gone off to see how everything was going for the ceremony they were planning. Even though Rainy Day and Lady Gillette had not been at the Institute when everything with Peggy Banzai had happened, they had been told all the details about it by people like Mrs. Johnson and Reno Nevada; they’d never been told the situation in whole by Buckaroo Banzai, but they figured out what eventually. This knew this situation was extremely important, and would even change the lives of those around the Institute and even outside of it who’d known Peggy Banzai and loved her. The two women figured they could be of help in one way or another, even if it was just being there to support anyone.

                Rainy Day and Lady Gillette rushed to the bunkhouse as quickly as they could. On their way, they contacted Mrs. Johnson using their Go-Phones to let her know that they were coming. The young widow agreed to their presence and waited for them. Once they got to the bunkhouse, Mrs. Johnson ushered them into the building and to the room where they’d brought Peggy and Penny; the room was the music room in the bunkhouse. They entered the room quickly and quietly as Rawhide and New Jersey continued to try and explain everything to Peggy Banzai, who’d known nothing about Penny Priddy pervious to the present moment.

                “I understand that this makes no sense to you, Peggy,” Rawhide said gently, “Hell, it was strange when we all found out. But Penny is definitely your twin sister.”

                Peggy seemed extremely confused and seemed to have been that way for a little while. “Why wouldn’t my parents tell me about having a twin sister?” she asked, “I think they’d remember having another daughter.”

                “We don’t know why your parents never told either of you about each other,” New Jersey informed, “But we’ve done DNA tests and a whole lot of other kinds of tests- they all prove that the two of you are the twin daughters of John and Rosemarie Simpson.”

                Penny gave her sister a sympathetic look. “If it makes you feel any better, I was shocked when I first found out about you,” she smiled weakly, “Hell, it still does sometimes. I don’t think I’ve fully wrapped my head around this.”

                Peggy let out a slight chuckle. “I think I can relate. You know, I always wanted a sister.”

                “I did too.”

                “I think we both know why now.”

                “Definitely,” Penny agreed, then was hesitant as she said, “Can I ask you something?”

                Peggy nodded. “Of course,” she allowed.

                “Did you ever feel… as though a part of you were missing?”

                “Every day my whole life. For a while, I thought it was cause I was away from here for so long, but it didn’t make sense since I felt it my whole life. But a little while after I got back here a little while ago, I didn’t feel that way anymore. It felt weird.”

                “When did it happen?”

                “When I was walking with Buckaroo and we walked past the Institute library.”

                Penny’s eyes lit up. “That was probably what I felt while I was in the library!”

                “You felt the same thing?”

                “Yeah, I did.”

                The two girls continued to talk and giggle with each other, slowly growing more comfortable with the situation and with each other. Those else in the room had made their way to the other side of the room, engaged in their own group conversation. They would take glances at the two women every so often, just to make sure they were doing alright. If they were being honest, they were a bit shocked how well the two were getting along and getting used to the idea of having a long lost sister- not so lost anymore- so quickly.

                “This is still a bit overwhelming,” Peggy admitted with a nervous laugh after a while.

                “Don’t worry,” Penny reassured, “I feel the same way.”

                “How long have you been here at the Institute?”

                “Long enough to know that around here, a person needs to always expect the unexpected.”

-/-/-

                Buckaroo Banzai paced behind Billy Travers in the Institute computer room. His bright red glasses, really only used for reading, helped him to make out what was on the papers that the young computer whiz had given him to look over. These papers were the same ones he had when he’d found them all, as well as a few new ones from what interns had found. The same papers were in the hands of Pecos, Reno Nevada, Perfect Tommy and Big Norse. They all scanned through the papers with their eyes, trying to figure out how whoever was trying to into their system had gotten farther in than in the previous system.

                “Maybe something went wrong in the microcodes in a floppy disc somewhere?” Reno thought aloud; technology like this was definitely _not_ his forte.

                Billy shook his head. “I checked all the codes,” he informed, “All the codes and their programming are just fine.”

                “What about a computer virus?” Pecos suggested, “You know, like _Creeper_ or _Elk Cloner_?”

                “Wasn’t _Elk Cloner_ that prank by some kid in Pennsylvania back in ’82 a couple years ago?” Perfect Tommy asked.

                “ _Elk Cloner_ was originally a prank created by fifteen year old Rich Skrenta,” Buckaroo began to explain, “The virus was in the coding of a floppy disc that had a computer game that he made up. Skrenta would give it out to his friends to play. When someone opened up the game for the fiftieth time on their computer, the virus would make its appearance; the virus would come off the disc and insert itself into the memory of the booted up computer. The virus would then remain on the computer and stay in its memory. If another floppy disc, that was not infected, was put into the computer, the virus in the computer’s memory would find its way to the uninfected disc- which would then cause it to become infected with the virus by Skrenta. If that disc was taken out of the infected computer and inserted into an uninfected computer, the computer would be infected with the virus. It was spread almost like a real virus. It would continue on like this.”

                “So if some rotten kid could cause that would problem,” Reno began.

                “Imagine the mess Xan could make,” Pecos finished for him.

                “Uh, guys,” Billy interrupted, “Speaking of problems- we’ve got a _big_ one.”

**_I apologize if any of my information is wrong about the computers. I did a lot of research, and just hope I understood it right._ **

**_This story may or may not be continued…_ **


	7. Part One: Chapter Seven

**_Expect the Unexpected. Part One: Chapter Seven._ **

                “What kind of _big problem?_ ” Big Norse asked the young computer genius nervously.

                “Look at the computer screen and find out,” Billy Travers answered her a bit nervously, moving out of her way so that she and the others could see.

                All those in the room rushed over to any computer in the room that was turned on. On each screen was a blue background with a pixel beaker on it, little pixel cartoon gas bubbles being released from the top of it’s opening. Above the little pixel cartoon was a message, also going along with the pixel format, that went as followed: _Hong Kong Cavaliers- I will get what I have come for. You cannot stop me._ The rest of the screen was still and covered in that taunting blue background.

                “Why’re badguys so cocky, anyhow?” Perfect Tommy asked in an annoyed tone of voice, “They always do stuff like that.”

                Pecos gave him a confused look. “What do you mean?” she asked.

                “With bad guys! They always think that nobody can get ‘em. Don’t they read the news? Watch television? Read? They never win! You think they’d learn by now, you know?”

                “Be serious, please?” Reno Nevada requested in a growl, “This is a _huge_ problem!”

                Buckaroo Banzai placed a relaxing hand on his tense friend’s shoulder. “This is obviously a very serious problem,” he said in a serious tone, “It’s times like this we have to keep our heads, right?” He looked slightly at the man who he was standing next to.

                Reno looked embarrassed as he nodded in agreement, feeling foolish for letting his temper get the best of him. Perfect Tommy gave a victorious smirk to his counterpart.

                “Are the Go-Phones working?” Billy asked.

                “Why wouldn’t they be?” Pecos asked with a curious shrug.

                Big Norse looked up at her from the computer. “They’re partly on the same system,” she explained, “A few of the functions on the Go-Phones are through the same system as the computer, since the system is created here at the Institute in the tech department, as well as the Go-Phones. But not many of the systems are the same.”

                “So if someone used a function on their Go-Phone that’s on the same system as our computers, then their Go-Phone _could_ crash,” Billy explained in the same tone, “That’s not a definite, since we don’t know what’ll happen yet. But if I’m right, if a person doesn’t use any of the functions on their Go-Phone, there shouldn’t be a problem.”

                “But people’s research and observations are in the system,” Buckaroo reminded them, “After writing down all the research and experiments and observations in a notebook, everyone’s supposed to copy them into the computer system we created for backup storage.” He was silent for a moment, obviously thinking about _something_ \- only he would know what- then his eyes widened in sudden realization. “That’s it!”

                Reno gave a confused look. “What’s it?”

                “Whoever just got in must looking for some of our research! They hacked into the system and they’re going to try and look for research and its notes that we’ve done here! That _has_ to be it! Why else would someone try and get into our system?”

                “So what do we do about?” Perfect Tommy shrugged.

                Buckaroo gave them the look he gave when there was about to be some kind of fight against evil. It always made them think of a warrior, no matter what the situation was at hand.

-/-/-

                The large group in the bunkhouse had eventually dispersed once things had calmed down; Lady Gillette went back to the rec room to help Red River Daddy, Rainy Day went back to the gate by Pinky Carruthers and Khonsu-Ra, New Jersey went to go and help in one of the many labs, and Rawhide headed toward the main computer room where the rest were. Mrs. Eunice Johnson, Penny Priddy and Peggy Banzai all moved to the kitchen in the bunkhouse- more commonly known as “Mrs. Johnson’s Private Kitchen”- to talk and to catch up.

                Mrs. Johnson and Peggy had always been close, that was no secret. Before the day when Peggy had been thought to have been killed the two girls were as close as sisters. When Peggy was gone, Mrs. Johnson hadn’t had another friendship as close with someone as she was with her. Sure, she’d grown close with women like Big Norse, Lady Gillette, Pecos and especially Rainy Day- but it wasn’t the same way she’d been friends with Peggy. It wasn’t until she’d gotten to know Penny that she had another friendship even slightly similar; she figured that it was because the two were sisters.

                “Aside from my mother- I mean, _our_ mother,” Peggy corrected herself, “Mrs. Johnson was the one who mostly taught me how to cook.”

                “I don’t doubt that one bit,” Penny laughed.

                “Not to toot my own horn,” Mrs. Johnson began, “But I think most people around here mainly learned how to cook from me.”

                Their laughter and conversation was cut short when Mrs. Johnson’s Go-Phone began to go off. She reached into the pocket of her hoodie that hung over the back of her chair, pulling the device from her pocket. She accepted the incoming call and held the phone to her ear. Penny and Peggy watched curiously, the same expression on their face, as they wondered who was calling.

                “Hello?” Mrs. Johnson asked in a cheerful voice in greeting.

                _“Mrs. Johnson?”_ a familiar voice asked, _“It’s Buckaroo. How’s everything in the bunkhouse going?”_

                “Everything’s settled. Both Peggy and Penny are just fine.”

                _“They’re both alright?”_

                “Yes, Buck. They’re both alright. I _promise_ you.”

                She heard Buckaroo let out a relieved sigh. _“Ok, good. At least one thing is going right.”_

                Mrs. Johnson gave a concerned look. “What do you mean?” she asked, not hiding her concern.

                _“The computer system’s been hacked into, and we believe whoever’s doing it is going after something in our scientific research files.”_

                “So what’re we gonna do about that?”

                _“I’m having Big Norse and Pecos send out an alert to everyone at the Institute about the situation. Billy and Tommy are trying to get back into the computers to try and see what’s going on with our hacker. I’m here with Reno and we’re on our way to security to see if Pinky knows anything and has seen anything involved.”_

“Can I talk to him?” Peggy asked her friend, who nodded and handed the blonde her phone. “Buckaroo? What’s going on?”

-/-/-

                _“Buckaroo? What’s going on?”_ was heard from the line in Peggy Banzai’s voice.

                Buckaroo Banzai felt guilty when he heard his wife’s voice come from the other line. He had gotten so focused on the hack that he had forgotten momentarily that she was even back in his life and at the Institute. He wasn’t completely used to the fact that she wasn’t really dead and that she was back in his life. Everything was completely thrown off, and the day he’d only dreamed of was now coming true, but turning into a nightmare cause of someone who was in their system. He felt bad for leaving her at a time when she was completely in shock, no less, after just getting back home after being away for so many years.

                _“Buckaroo?”_ Peggy repeated, _“Did you hear me? I said, what’s going on?”_

                “Peggy,” Buckaroo breathed out, relishing her voice, “I’m sorry.”

                Buckaroo became as weak as an unlit Bunsen burner. Sure, he had the quality of both sympathy and empathy, and would base his desire to help people on those two things. And of course, he was a strong man and an even stronger leader- he had to be in his position. Those sorts of things were all included in his job description. But even with all of that- his wife was still his kryptonite. She always was, and she always would be.

                _“Why’re you apologizing?”_ Peggy asked from her end.

                “Way too many reasons than there should be,” Buckaroo answered, while letting out a heavy sigh.

                _“Is this about running off before?”_

                “How’d you know that?”

                Her laugh was heard from the other end. _“I can read you like you can read a formula, Buckaroo Banzai. Always could, always can, and always will. Buckaroo, it’s okay. You think I didn’t know what I was getting myself back into when I told the hospital to call the Insitute?”_

                “But this shouldn’t all be happening _today_ ,” Buckaroo argued.

                _“Expect the unexpected, right?”_ Peggy asked.

                He gave a smile and thought, _At least she’s still the same in that capacity._ “You got that right.”

                _“So? What can we do?”_

                “Who?”

                _“Me, Penny and Mrs. Johnson are just sitting here in the bunkhouse. This is our home, too. So I’ll repeat myself: what can we do to help get this guy?”_

-/-/-

                Perfect Tommy sat in the seat next to Billy Travers in the computer room; Rawhide hadn’t arrived to the room yet. Billy’s fingers were moving quickly across his computer keyboard and on the mouse, his eyes darting back and forth from the keyboard to the computer screen. Tommy looked through a number of textbooks and notebooks, trying to find something- _anything­_ \- that might help them get through. So far, neither of the two young men had found a thing, and neither of them had broken through anything. It was really quite irritating for the both of them.

                That was until the computer screen changed.

                “Hey, hey, hey,” Billy said quickly and leaned forward in his seat.

                Perfect Tommy looked up and leaned forward and looked up suddenly at the screen, his eyes going wide at the sight. “What the hell’s it doing?” he asked.

                The once blue computer with the “threatening” message disappeared and was changing every second. It turned green. It turned yellow. It turned red. It turned black. It turned purple. The words turned into pixels that spread across the screen, mixed into strange shapes and patterns, and back again. The screen glitched and twitched, causing lines to form all over the screen.

                “Make it stop that,” Perfect Tommy requested in a voice laces with neutrality and nervousness.

                Billy Travers gave a look of annoyance. “Don’t you think I _would_ if I _could_?” he practically yelled, “I have literally _no_ control over anything right now!” He clicked the mouse a few times and tried typing, but nothing worked.

                “Well… can’t you fix this? I mean, you’re a computer whiz, right?”

                “If I could, we wouldn’t be in this situation. I’m not IT help, Tommy, I’m a hacker, remember?”

                “Then can’t you just hack back into the system and try to hack back in and past whoever hacked us originally and gain control back?”

                Billy thought this over, eyes wide in realization, then looked slowly back to his friend and colleague.

                Perfect Tommy gave a strange look and leaned back in his seat, trying to slightly distance himself from his counterpart. “Quit starin’ at me like that,” he said cautiously, “It’s giving me the heebie-jeebies.”

**_This story may or may not be continued…_ **


	8. Part One: Chapter Eight

**_Expect the Unexpected. Part One: Chapter Eight._ **

                “At least the Go-Phones seem to still be working,” Reno Nevada observed.

                Buckaroo Banzai nodded in agreement. “Yeah, but we don’t know how the connected systems between them and the computers work,” he reminded.

                As they conversed, Big Norse and Pecos came running up to the two. They took a moment to catch their breath and to regain their composure. Reno pulled Pecos by him, wrapping his arm around her waist and quickly bringing her against his left side; she swooned a bit, but managed to recover quickly. The two waited as their leader and head of communications discussed their findings about the Institute Go-Phones. The two lovers present decided to have their own conversation while they waited, since neither of them were that wonderful with technology.

                “How’re things going for you?” Pecos asked, referring to the current problem that the Institute faced.

                Reno shrugged. “Go-Phones seem to be working,” he stated, “How about with you and Big Norse?”

                “Like you said, the Go-Phones seem to be working all over. Although, a few people trying to get into their research files can’t get in.”

                “That’s expected.”

                Both of the conversation were cut short when Reno’s Go-Phone began to go off. The other three present looked at him as he pulled his small mobile communications device out from his pocket and held it against his ear. “Yeah?” he asked as a greeting, his voice unusually rough.

                _“Reno?”_ came in Billy Travers’ voice, _“It’s Billy.”_

                “Hey, Billy. You two get anything yet?”

                _“Kinda. Tommy came up with this idea that I think could work. Since I know how to hack into a system, he said I should try and hack into the system again, and try to get past the block that are hacker put up and try to gain control again. Did that make sense?”_

Buckaroo thought for a moment. “That could work,” he agreed, “Have you tried it yet?”

                _“Not yet. I figured out a few codes that might work, but I wanted to get clearance first if I could. It’s kind of a risky move.”_

                “ _So was this jerk breaking into our system!”_ they heard Perfect Tommy yell from the other line, _“But here we are!”_

                “Go ahead, Billy,” Buckaroo allowed, “Let us know what happens. Me and Reno are gonna head over to the front gate to see what’s up with security.”

-/-/-

                Rainy Day, Khonsu-Ra, and Pinky Carruthers stood together at the front gate. Since they were still just interns, it was one of their jobs to stay at the gate most of the time. It was not just the three of them at the gate, but even with the other interns and residents and Blue Blaze Irregulars, it was Pinky who was in charge. And he was pretty keen on making Khonsu-Ra second in command- or at least right under him in security, and Rainy Day right under him; the two of them were the best who stayed at the gate with him and with security, which came in handy at the present moment.

                Aside from the computer hack, no problems had occurred all day with security, this was not unusual, but when things started to go wrong, they all made sure to stay on top of their game. That was part of the reason that there were presently more people that were stationed at all entrances and all interior sides of the wall that surrounded the property, and even some who hid right by the wall outside.

                Ever since they found out Lectroids could simply jump over the wall with no problem, adjustments were made to make the wall higher, and they all figured that they should have more people all over it.

                “Anything?” Pinky Carruthers asked his colleagues and friends at the gate as he approached them.

                “No,” Khonsu-Ra answered simply.

                “Not a thing,” Rainy Day shrugged, “Well, except for Buckaroo and Reno are on their way here.”

                Khonsu-Ra gave a confused look. “How do you know this?”

                “Tommy told me so.”

                “How?”

                She shrugged. “He called over the Go-Phone.”

                “How is his working?”

                “I don’t know. He’s just perfect, I guess.”

                Pinky gave her a look. “You’ve been spending too much time with that boy.” She gave an embarrassed smile as her cheeks turned pink, in which her two friends and colleagues gave amused smiles.

                The two continued to disperse themselves around the gate, all making sure there had been no problems. After asking everyone who was scheduled to be at the gate and wall, they decided that so far, there had been no problems or cause for alert. While it was reassuring that no one had gotten in who wasn’t supposed to, it didn’t make the Hong Kong Cavaliers feel all that much better, since they were still unsure of the situation. Either way, all they could do at the moment was continue to guard the wall and the gate, and just be on the top of their game. They’d be ready if something happened, or even if someone tried to get in.

-/-/-

                Across the street and a few houses down stood a house that had been purchased just for this day. Inside the house was a group of about ten with an equal amount of guys and girls. Out of the ten, only four had a real reason for what they were doing, at least in their minds. The other six that were with them were more for man power. These six had nothing to do with the objective, but the original four had their own reasons and knowledge for and of what they were doing and why. Of course, that didn’t make any of it any better, considering what they were doing was not the most legal thing in the world.

                The female in charge- who was nicknamed “Sunshine”- peered over her cohorts shoulder and at the computer screen. “So you got through?” she asked her partner in crime as well as boyfriend in an eager voice.

                “You bet,” Johnny Be-Good confirmed with an evil smirk at his girlfriend.

                Sunshine moved her hand over his shoulder in a smooth and seductive manner. “Wonderful…”

                “Wait,” Yvette interrupted as she looked at the screen, “What the hell’s that?”

                The four all looked at the screen a bit closer. The mouse on the screen began to move on its own across the screen. Things moved and words began to appear on the screen, all being cause by someone else that was not them. The four gave confused look at what happened across the screen with each moment. What really confused them was the message that popped up onto the screen that read: _We don’t know who you are yet, but we will find out, and we will find you. And when we do, be ready for hell. –The Hong Kong Cavaliers_

                “How’d they get control back?” Sunshine growled.

                Johnny Be-Good clicked the mouse multiple times and tried typing. “I have no idea,” he answered honestly, all his original confidence gone.

                Sunshine whacked the back of his head with her hand. “Well think, you idiot!”

                JJ thought for a moment. “You know,” he mused, “It could be Billy Travers. Remember him?”

                “I do,” Yvette thought sadly, but shook it off quickly and continued, “Banzai has him do all the computer stuff at the Institute. Kid’s a genius hacker.”

                Johnny Be-Good smirked a bit. “Probably hacked into you a few times, huh, Yvette?”

                Yvette fumed and smacked the back of his head. “ _Shut up_!”

                “If someone smacks me one more time!”

                Just for the fun of it, JJ smacked the back of his head once more. “Like that?”

                Sunshine rolled her eyes. “Just get control back!” she yelled her order, making everyone jump a bit.

                “What if we can’t?” Johnny Be-Good asked hesitantly.

                Sunshine shrugged nonchalantly. “Then we invade.”

-/-/-

                “Did it go through?” Perfect Tommy asked eagerly.

                Billy Travers didn’t look away from the computer screen. “It looks that way,” he answered.

                Tommy whooped in victory. “We got control back!”

                “Yeah, seems that way…”

                “You don’t seem too happy about that.”

                “Happy about what?” Rawhide asked as he entered the room.

                Perfect Tommy turned around and looked at the new arrival. “Where the hell have you been?”

                The elder of the three rolled his eyes. “Around the world in eighty days. So what’s going on in here with you two?”

                “Well, Billy the Kid here was able to get control back-“

                “Somewhat,” Billy interjected.

                “-and for some reason, he’s not happy about that.”

                Rawhide nodded slowly and thoughtfully, absorbing what he’d been told. He then looked over to the young hacker. “What’s your side?”

                Billy looked up at the man, then back at the screen. “Well, I was able to hack back into the system to try and see what our hacker was up to, sent them a message about five minutes ago, and they’ve been quiet ever since. Not a thing has happened. No messages. No retaliations. _Nothing_.”

                “I see the problem.”

                “Me too,” Perfect Tommy chimed in awkwardly, “Should I call the boss and Reno?”

                “Yeah,” Rawhide sighed, rubbing his eyes stressfully, “I’ll let Pinky know. Billy, just keep watch at them computers like you’ve been, let anyone know if there’s any changes. If not, just remind us of that every five minutes.” At that, they each tended to their own and worked on their own individual assigned tasks.

-/-/-

                Sunshine, Johnny Be-Good, JJ and their muscle all armed themselves. They readied their gear and their weapons, trying to properly arm and protect themselves to break through the front gate of the Banzai Institute. Only one of the ten was hesitant, but had a gun pointed at her head after she questioned why there were really doing all of this and what for; it made her think of how they threatened to kill her if she didn’t help them in the first place. To save her own life, she just agreed and went along with it all, hoping to try and help those inside the Institute was they broke through.

                _I gotta figure something out,_ Yvette thought desperately, _I don’t want anyone to get hurt or for anything to get taken. But what?_

                Sunshine adjusted all of her gear and guns then turned to face her cohorts. “Everyone ready?” she asked. When everyone nodded, she gave an evil smirk and said, “Let’s go get back what’s ours.”

                As everyone left the house, Yvette let out a sad sigh.

**_This story may or may not be continued…_ **


	9. Part One: Chapter Nine

**_Expect the Unexpected. Part One: Chapter Nine._ **

                “ _So there’s been no activity since Billy sent them a message?”_ Buckaroo Banzai aside in a concerned way.

                “Not a thing,” Perfect Tommy sighed, “Rawhide went to go and talk to Pinky. Personally, I think it’s time to rally the troops.”

_“I can agree on that. Alright, I’ll send Reno with you. You and him are going to get ready for any kind of fight we might have. Get the teams ready, alert everyone, just in case.”_

                “You got it, boss.”

                There was a slight pause before Buckaroo spoke again. _“I feel that this all excites you too much.”_

                “What can I say?” Tommy asked rhetorically, “I crave action.”

                His boss and friend laughed from the other end. _“You got too much energy. That’s probably why I keep you around.”_

                After exchanging a few more words and instructions with one another, the two men hung up the call. The younger of the two men did as he was told and got the teams ready, with the help of his companion once he arrived. They alerted everyone at the Institute- with help from Big Norse- about what was going on based off of what they knew. They also managed to let everyone else on the property of the Institute know what was happening- both by themselves, and through asking people they told to spread the news like a rumor. It seemed to do the trick, since people all over the Institute were taking any precautions necessary to keep themselves, their colleagues, their friends, and their family all safe in one way or another. It was actually quite encouraging.

                “So, what do we do now?” Perfect Tommy asked as he and his colleague sped walk the grounds.

                Reno Nevada shrugged a bit. “I guess wait,” he answered with a shrug, “I think that’s all we can do at the moment, friend.”

                That seemed to irk the younger man. “So we just wait?” He was already fidgeting like a child, annoying his companion.

                He sighed. “Yes, Tommy. How about, to kill time, we go check on Pecos and Rainy Day?”

                Contrary to his first reaction from his friend’s words, this time, Tommy perked up. “That works.”

-/-/-

                By request via Go-Phone, Pecos went to join Rainy Day at the front gate of the Institute; Rawhide would join them at some point, just not yet. Neither of the women had a problem with the request, mostly because they’d both get to see the men they were both romantically involved with. But even Pinky Carruthers was fine with it, cause that meant that he had more armed and definitely dangerous people at the gate. It was also a good temporary distraction for those that patiently waited for the next attack from those who had invaded the computer system of the Institute.

                Reno Nevada and Perfect Tommy walked to the front gate of the Institute within five minutes. Once they arrived, two of the interns at the gate moved to another nearby area. The two Hong Kong Cavaliers walked up to Pecos and Rainy Day, the two pairs all smiling at one another when the other was present and close enough. The two men walked up to the two women, all giving one another either a friendly greeting or amorous greeting, depending on their relationship.

                “Anything going on here?” Reno asked curiously.

                Rainy Day shrugged. “Nothing,” she answered, “Just a few preteens asking when’s the next concert.”

                “When’s that again?” Pecos asked for reference.

                “Couple weeks,” Perfect Tommy answered without missing a beat, “We’re playing a few nights in Atlantic City, then coming back up to Nutley, then over to Saddle Brook before coming back here for one of those Institute events.”

                Before any of them could say another word, a loud _thump_ sound could be heard from the other side of the gate. The four all exchanged looks of concern and question with one another in response. All those in the area as well as others posted at the wall all gave strange looks and began to figure out what happened. Khonsu-Ra and Pinky Carruthers came running up to the four quickly.

                “What the _hell_ was _that?!”_

-/-/-

                “And your Go-Phone is set up,” Buckaroo Banzai told his wife as he finished setting up the small device.

                With all the commotion going on at the Banzai Institute, Buckaroo went to find his recently reunited wife. Along with how he felt bad about not being with her so much already, he also wanted to see her in general. He’d missed years with her and now he finally had the chance to make up those missed years. And even with all currently going on with their hackers, he would be with her as much as he possibly could- and she had no problem with that whatsoever.

                “Incredible,” Peggy Banzai said as she examined the device, “And I call with this? Like a phone?”

                Buckaroo let out an amused chuckle. “Exactly,” he smiled, “And in its memory are all the codes and extensions to reach anyone here with a Go-Phone.”

                “That’s so cool! Ok, so I hate to change conversation but- what do we do about the situation?”

                “We wait. We’ve all prepared for the worst as best as we can. Unfortunately, we don’t know anything about who actually hacked into the system, all we know is that they haven’t been active for too long now, so we don’t know if we’ll be properly prepared till something happens. Otherwise, all we can do is wait for their next move.”

                “Like in chess?”

                “Yes.”

                She gave a strange look. “Then this is the worst game of chess ever. And I’ve played against you.”

                Their conversation was interrupted by a muffled sound, which was still obviously loud and powerful. A minute later, two muffled gunshots could be heard. By instinct, Buckaroo shot up from his seat, one hand resting on the gun he kept at his side. Peggy was not fazed by his actions, but still shook from the sounds of the loud blast and the gunshots. A minute or two after the two gunshots were heard, the found of the Institute’s Go-Phone began to go off. He looked at his wife, who looked back at him with wide eyes.

-/-/-

                Perfect Tommy and Sunshine stood about twenty feet away from one another. Both had one arm outstretched, a gun in each of their hands, their fingers wrapped around their gun trigger. He wore a dangerous glare on his face as he seethed in rage. She wore an evil smirk with traces of diabolic amusement as she challenged him with her eyes. No one spoke, the only sound being the labored breathing of two of the viewers and the ripping of fabric to cover a wound.

                “Go ahead,” Sunshine challenged, “Shoot me.”

                “Shut up,” Perfect Tommy growled.

                “Go ahead. Make my day.”

                “I said, _shut up!”_

                “But realize that if you do shoot me, they all have orders of what they are to do. So whether or not you shoot me, we’ll still have gotten what we actually came for.”

                “You’re sick in the head. Always were.”

                Sunshine laughed humorlessly. “You know,” she mused, “Rawhide said the same exact thing that day. Remember that day? I do. Hey, where is Rawhide anyway?”

                “Why’re you doing this?” Perfect Tommy muttered angrily.

                “I want what’s rightfully mine: my work, my research, et cetera, et cetera. I tried a few times, but this was the only thing to do that would really get everyone’s attention so that I could do it. Which leads me to this: you’re gonna call your boss, and tell him I wanna talk to him. My own little band of misfits is gonna roam and find what we’re here for. No problems, no one gets hurt, and you never see us again. Simple as that.”

                “No one gets hurt?” Pecos asked angrily, “Are you freaking kidding me?! You shot Rainy Day, Reno’s head is bleeding, and your bullet grazed and cut Pinky’s arm pretty deep. What do you call that? A damn picnic in the park on a Sunday afternoon?!”

                “It was for emphasis,” Sunshine shrugged nonchalantly.

                Pecos fumed as she got up from her position on the ground next to her boyfriend and began to storm forward toward her enemy, only to be stopped by Khonsu-Ra as he grabbed her arm to hold her back. “Do not,” he said gently, “She is not worth it, Pecos. None of them are worth your temper.”

                Sunshine feigned a cringed and sucked at her teeth. “Oh, that hurt. But I’ll get over it. Now, one of you pull out your Go-Phones and call Buckaroo before we have to start shooting- starting with Little Miss Hot-Head over there,” she threatened; Pecos growled at her, only making her smirk even more.

-/-/-

                “Answer it,” Peggy told her husband gently.

                Buckaroo looked at her solemnly, then gave a light nod. He took his Go-Phone gingerly from his pocket and answered the call. “Hello,” he greeted neutrally.

                “ _Hey, Buckaroo,”_ Pinky’s voice came through, _“We got someone here who wants to talk to you.”_ His voice had a nervous edge to it.

                “What’s going on?”

                “ _Dr. Banzai, so go to hear your voice again!”_ Sunshine greeted.

                His breath caught in his throat but he quickly recovered. “Why’re you here?”

                “ _I want my research files. My hypothesis, my notes, research, experimentation, results- all of it. I’ve got a group here with me and they’re prepared to help me get them. All I ask of you is to allow them to go through.”_

                “And if I don’t?”

                “ _We go through anyway, but you’ll have a few more people injured than you already do. And worse, too.”_

                Peggy heard that and grew worried right away. “What do you mean? Who’s hurt?” she asked in a concerned tone.

                There was a pause. “ _Who’s this_?” Sunshine asked.

                “I’m Buckaroo’s wife, Peggy.”

                _“Oh, yes, I heard about your return. How ironic. Well, sorry to spoil your day, Mrs. Banzai, but I will not change my plans just because you are back. Now if you would please put your husband back on?”_

                “Sunshine, you need to stop,” Buckaroo said as he took back the phone, “This won’t work.”

                _“I think it will, actually. You must be forgetting that I once was an intern myself here, working my way up to resident. Maybe even join the Hong Kong Cavaliers. I was like your little band of scientists and engineers and scholars- willing and ready. But you all thought I took the wrong turn. You took away my internship and made me leave. Well, that made me mad. Oh, did it make me mad. But I figured something out- I just needed my research. The research that I spent my time and my energy on day and night. I will not have it kept from me any longer! It’s been a year and a half, and I want it all back!”_

                “You’re research was dangerous, Sunshine. More than dangerous- deadly! It could and would kill people if I let it evolve! I was not going to be responsible for the deaths of so many people if you continued! That’s not what we do at the Banzai Institute!”

                _“How many have you killed, Dr. Banzai? You’ve killed before, I know you have. And you know what? So has your little friends: Rawhide, Perfect Tommy, Reno Nevada, Pinky Carruthers, Dr. Zwibel, Red River Daddy, Pecos, even little Billy Travers. Oh, and imagine how many people Lady Gillette’s killed. You’ve killed too, Dr. Banzai, and you know it.”_

                Buckaroo began to breathe heavily from guilt and anger. “What’re you saying?”

                “ _We’re the same. You’re a scientist, I’m a scientist-“_

                “You’re a maniac, I’m not.”

                “ _-I’ve killed, you’ve killed. We’re both geniuses. But all that’s just detail. Let my group and me in so we can get what we want and this is all over.”_

                “You’re the hacker.”

                Sunshine’s evil laugh could be heard from the other end. “ _Maybe you’re not such a genius if you just figured that out. So are we allowed access or what?”_

                Peggy looked at her husband. “Let them in,” she said confidently.

                Buckaroo gave a strange look. “What?!”

                “I have a plan. Trust me.”

                With one last look, he nodded. “Sunshine.”

                “ _Yes?”_ Sunshine mused.

                “Find your research. Try not to hurt anyone else here.”

                _“I’ll try.”_ And the call was dropped.

                Buckaroo took one last breath before slipping his Go-Phone back into his pocket. He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them to calm himself down. He then turned to face his wife. “So what’s your plan?” he asked, already thinking of one just in case or to go along with it.

                “We’re gonna play chess,” Peggy answered. Her facial expression looked all too similar to the kind her husband had when he was ready to fight for his family and his home- and he found that comforting.

**_This story may or may not be continued…_ **


	10. Part One: Chapter Ten

**_Expect the Unexpected. Part One: Chapter Ten._ **

                Rawhide ran toward the front gate but stopped a distance away when he saw a group of familiar faces. When he analyzed the situation for another minute, he had an idea of what was going on in the near distance. He quickly and quietly ran to a group of bushes that lined the interior of the outer wall of the Institute and hid behind and in them, covering himself from sight. He positioned himself so he could see and hear clearly what was being said and what was happening, but not be seen by the Institute’s attackers from where he was.

-/-/-

                “Well, would you look at that,” Sunshine mused, “Maybe your boss isn’t so rigid after all.”

                “What?” Reno Nevada asked in annoyed tone, his tone obvious and his hand against the wound on his head soothingly and gently to ease it’s inner throbbing feeling.

                Sunshine blew him off. “I won’t go into details- but let’s just say that your boss allowed us to roam. Seems it was at the allowance and convincing from his wife.”

                “Peggy,” Pecos said and shook her head, “Why would Peggy allow that?”

                Sunshine shrugged. “Maybe all those years with the World Crime League got to her while she was away.”

                Perfect Tommy’s head snapped up in the direction she stood. “How do you know that?” he snapped at her, his voice curious but his eyes still full of fire.

                “Oh, please, Pretty Boy. The whole damn world knows that the great Buckaroo Banzai’s wife was supposedly killed after their wedding, but was just recently found and returning here. It’s all over the televisions, the radio, the newspapers, the magazines. It’s the biggest thing to happen since those American prisoners were released while Reagan was sworn in.”

                “No, no, no. How would you have known that she was with the World Crime League?”

                Sunshine’s heart beat a little faster. “Doesn’t everyone?” she tried to cover.

                “We never released the information to the public,” Pinky Carruthers answered.

                “Not even everyone here at the Institute knows that Peggy was taken by the World Crime League,” Pecos stated, her eyes narrow and her tone sharp.

                Sunshine’s heart beat a little bit faster than it already was. _Well, I just gave away something,_ she thought nervously as she looked at members of the Hong Kong Cavaliers, _God help me so that Hanoi Xan will not kill me for this. Or that Henrietta will not kill me for this._ She tried to hide the sudden panic that she felt as result of the thought of the man who had hired her or his daughter as not to show fear in front of those who she’d betrayed and now stood in front of. One sign of fear, and they would control her like Xan. She wouldn’t be the puppet of both Xan and Banzai; showing fear in front of the Hong Kong Cavaliers at this point would make her just that.

                “You’re working with the World Crime League,” Reno stated, his eyes a bit wider and his tone a bit softer, both from the pain he felt and the shock written on his face.

                Sunshine huffed. “Fine,” she caved, trying not to show fear and keep her confidence, “I admit it. I now work with Hanoi Xan and the World Crime League, and that’s why I’m here. Happy?”

                “With,” Pecos started, “Or under?”

                Sunshine’s eyes went ablaze and she aimed her gun at the woman. “Don’t test me.”

                Perfect Tommy tried to help Rainy Day to a more comfortable position. “You wouldn’t be offended by it unless it was true,” he stated, a small smirk tugging at his lips- earning the muzzle of her handgun pointed now at him.

                “Sunshine!” a familiar voice called. Rawhide revealed himself from the bush, proving the voice was his. He held a large gun in his hand and aimed it straight ahead at the intruders, who all gave some kind of sign of initial alarm, all recovering too quickly for his liking. He walked away from the bush and by his friends and colleagues, facing the intruders. Sunshine smirked a bit at his appearance, like she was amused about something. It made her seem even more insane than she already was.

                “Well, well,” Sunshine mused again, placing her gun back in its holster and placing her hands on her hips, “Rawhide. Good to see you again.”

                Rawhide didn’t lower his gun but kept it aimed at her head. “Can’t say the same,” he said truthfully, “What’re you doing here?”

                “Didn’t you hear all of that from before?” She rolled her eyes and placed a hand to her head. “I really don’t wanna have to go through all that again. Oh! I have an idea! Once my team goes, I’ll explain everything to you while you bring me to Buckaroo Banzai. How’s that?”

                Rawhide barked out a humorless laugh. “Yeah? And why would I do that?”

                “Cause I want to see him. Catch up, that’s all.”

                “You must think I’m an idiot. I know you got clearance, Heaven knows why, but I ain’t taking you to Buck. No one is.”

                “Oh, but I don’t want anyone else to take me,” Sunshine shrugged, “I want _you_ to take me. In fact, I want this lot of yours to stay right here, and Yvette here is gonna keep watch over them. Then my crew is gonna all roam, remember? While they all roam looking for my research, you’ll take me to Buckaroo.”

                “Wackjob.”

                “I believe the word you’re looking for is _insane_? Or maybe it’s _crazy person_? Ooh, or a name of someone from that movie with Jack Nicholson, _One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest!_ I like that. Oh well, perhaps another time. Anyway, I don’t care how wacky it sounds- you’re gonna do it. Cause my team is now free to roam about the cabin!”

                With that command, eight of the total nine with Sunshine all moved away from the group. All eight had their guns drawn, ready to shoot anyone who got in their way as they roamed and looked for the research. As said, Yvette stood a slight distance away, slowly moving closer to the group of Hong Kong Cavaliers with her gun drawn and her face hard. There was something deceiving about her facial expression, but no one could pinpoint exactly what it was. Sunshine didn’t notice, but rather just kept her gaze straight at Rawhide, whose gun was still drawn. She drew her gun and cocked it ready, aiming it straight at Rawhide.

                “Now,” Sunshine began, “I’ll repeat myself one more time. Take me to Buckaroo, or I shoot you. Now how would he feel if his second in command and best friend died twice? But this time, couldn’t be cryogenically frozen and preserved until they found a cure for that Lectroid poison.”

                Rawhide was silent for a moment. “If I take you, you allow New Jersey to come and treat their injuries that _you_ caused,” he requested hesitantly.

                “Rawhide!” Pecos cried.

                “Fine,” Sunshine allowed, “Call New Jersey and get him over here. No one leaves this area though!” She turned to Yvette. “If any funny business goes on, you shoot. Got it?” When Yvette nodded, Sunshine continued, “Good. Now. Let’s go, Rawhide. Both of our guns down.”

                With that, Rawhide and Sunshine walked away from the group and toward the Institute entrance.

-/-/-

                “That plan could work,” Buckaroo Banzai told his wife quickly, “But they might be able to tell.”

                “Of course they could,” Peggy Banzai shrugged, “But by that time, all will be said and done and there’d be no one to figure anything out. You said that Sunshine was the only one aside from you and Professor Hikita that could figure out how to do what she was doing off of her research notes and such, and that you guys burned the originals anyway.”

                Peggy had explained her plan to her husband in a five minute period. It was a risky plan, luring the enemy into the center of the headquarters, but that was the only solution to get the captain out of the picture. It was always a risky plan and situation to get one’s self into, but things like that needed to be done sometimes. She knew that those at the Institute had put themselves in risky situations more than once, so this probably would be no different. But even with that as a reassurance, it didn’t help to ease the nervousness she felt about her husband having to confront that wackjob.

                She’d been away from him for three and a half years. That was long enough. She didn’t want to be separated from him ever again.

                Buckaroo sensed the sadness that overtook his wife. He was relieved that he could still read her like a book- much like she could him- but his face fell when he could sense the sadness she felt. He would be a liar if he said that he wasn’t concerned at all. He was concerned for his friends, his family, his Institute, and for his wife; his friends, who were also his family, and his wife triumphed over anything else. He was concerned for the interns and the residents and the rest of the staff who had found friendly and family oriented sanctuary at the Institute. He could relate to her sadness and concern, and wished there was something he could do to get rid of both hers and his.

                He could only think of one thing to do.

                Buckaroo walked closer to his wife and pulled her close. Peggy didn’t hesitate and wrapped her arms tight around his torso, as if her life depended on him. Maybe it did. He tightened his arms around her in attempt at comfort. She buried her head in his chest and he ran his hand through her hair.

                “Do you think everyone’s going to be ok?” Peggy asked quietly, her voice shaking a bit.

                Buckaroo stayed silent.

                Peggy looked up at him, her eyes showing fear. “You’re not answering me.”

                “I know,” he sighed. Silence again. “Come on. We should get ready for this.” He kissed her forehead and let her go, walking out of the room and to another part of the Institute. She gave him a sad look and watched him walk out before she ran to go after him and stay with him.

**_This story may or may not be continued…_ **


	11. Part One: Chapter Eleven

**_Expect the Unexpected. Part One: Chapter Eleven._ **

                “So what can you tell me about this _Sunshine_ chick?” Peggy Banzai asked curiously.

                Buckaroo and Peggy Banzai rushed through the building, room to room, doing anything that they could. They would check on the security cameras and watch sadly and angrily as people rummaged through rooms, drawers, and anything else they could get their hands on. People were raising their hands in surrender and doing as they were ordered by their invaders. After tearing apart a room, the invaders would give some kind of order, then move on. It brought anger and sadness to the founder of the Banzai Institute and his recently returned wife.

                “Well,” Buckaroo began, “She used to be an intern here, working her way up to resident. She had just graduated from college with a Doctorate as a Biomedical Engineer. She had a great background, and honestly, she was brilliant. She was automatically accepted as an intern. She began work in her field here, as well as other scientific areas around and involved in her field. She began to study the process of genetic engineering, right when we got the new technology. She was doing extremely well with it. IN fact, she was able to figure it out better than anyone else. Because of that, she was made in charge of the studies that took care of genetic engineering, under me and Hikita-san, of course.”

                “Ok,” Peggy confirmed with understanding.

                His face seemed to grow harder. “She’d apparently been working on some research under the table.”

                “What kind of research?”

                “ _Illegal_ research. Illegal testing. _Dangerous_ testing. She did it for seven months, getting help from a few others so they could keep it a secret and away from me and others like Mrs. Johnson and Rawhide. We eventually found out, did an investigation, and immediately dismissed all those involved. We also got rid of their records.”

-/-/-

                “You don’t wanna do this,” Reno Nevada stated calmly.

                Yvette paced back and forth, gun in hand as she did so. It was obvious to the Hong Kong Cavaliers that she was guarding that her gun was locked on safety, but they didn’t say anything about it. She shook quickly, probably from anxiousness. While the rest of those she was with were not, it was obvious that she was bluffing when she tried to threaten them. They all thought that she could tell that she didn’t scare them at all, or that she was scared herself, since she would quickly back down.

                Yvette snapped her head in his direction. Her eyes were wide with fear, but she tried to hide it- unsuccessfully. “Shut up,” she demanded.

                “Don’t deny it, Yvette,” Pinky Carruthers said, “You think we can’t tell you’re freaking out?”

                “You know, I can shoot like Sunshine, too!”

                “But you won’t,” Pecos stated flatly , looked at her rival dead in the eyes- a strategy she’d learned to master from her years at the Banzai Institute.

                Yvette started to shake even more. She put her arms up and out and aimed the gun with shaky hands. The safety was still on, and they wondered if she knew that. The Hong Kong Cavaliers all watched her intently, curious what she might do. Adrenaline pulsed through the bodies of all those present. She looked at each of her hostages, growing shakier with each passing second. She tried to get a better grip on her gun and tried to look less scared, but it didn’t work. She let out an agonizing yell as she turned and threw the gun in the bushes. She slumped her shoulders, ran her hands over her face and fell to her knees.

                “See?” Pecos asked gently.

                “Why’re you here?” Reno asked.

                Yvette removed her hands from her face but remained on the ground. “Sunshine already told you,” she sighed.

                Rawhide shook his head. “No,” he said, “No, not why _Sunshine’s_ here. Why’re _you_ here?”

                Yvette gave a confused look. “I don’t understand.”

                “You were a good kid,” Perfect Tommy commented, “I remember. You always did what you were supposed to do, and _never_ broke or even bent a rule, except for once or twice when it was an accident. Hell, you were a goody two shoes. So what happened?”

                Yvette gave a hesitant pause. With a heavy sigh, she began to explain. What had happened was that she had been an intern who was working under sunshine. She didn’t do any of the questionable experiments, but rather the research on genetic engineering and its advances as a whole; she had no idea of the illegal testing until the investigations, the ones that she had been deemed innocent of. But when everything happened and it was established that she would be able to keep her internship, Sunshine had asked her to leave and to help her with something- Yvette had declined. Next thing she knew, a gun was held against her head and she was being forced to hand write a letter that would forfeit her internship at the Banzai Institute. She packed her things, cut off her relationship with Billy Travers, and left the Institute by force. She then had become stuck in helping Sunshine with her “endeavors”.

                “And since then, my life’s been a living hell,” Yvette finished sadly.

                “Haven’t you tried to get away? Get help?” Pecos asked, still nursing her significant other’s head wound.

                “Of course I’ve tried. But it always ends with me getting found out and punished.”

                “That’s not right,” Pinky said sadly as he shook his head in disapproval.

                “Do you know her plans?” Rawhide asked suddenly, “To get her old research files and everything, I mean.”

                Yvette thought for a moment and shrugged lightly. “Yeah, everything she told us, at least. Why?”

                “Cause I have an idea that’ll benefit the Institute right now and just you, Yvette. No one else with her. But we would need you to betray Sunshine. Could you do that?”

                “Easily.” She didn’t hesitate.

                “You can’t more Rainy Day, Reno or Pinky too much,” New Jersey warned, “Pinky and Rainy Day are both still bleeding, and Reno’s got a head wound doing the same.” He silently mentioned how all three looked a bit paler than they did before they were injured.

                Yvette jumped a bit. “Oh! I could tell Sunshine you guys gave me a lead and we all have to move. We could go to the infirmary so they could just stay there. Would that work?”

                “That works fine.”

                “Let’s do it,” Rawhide agreed.

-/-/-

                Penny Priddy and Mrs. Eunice Johnson quickly went to the filing room and began to raid the cabinets. They quickly went through each file, examining their contents as thoroughly and as quickly as possible. This sent the room in a subtle disarray, files that might be somewhat important being left on the table and floor around them. This continued as they moved from the main filing system to the area that had the more private and limited access files; being the head of the filing and storage, Mrs. Johnson had access that was not questioned.

                Mrs. Johnson let out an irritated yell before saying, “There’s nothing here! We burned all her research!”

                “Does she know that?” Penny asked.

                “I don’t know. Probably not, since she thinks that she can still get them back from Buckaroo.”

                “I don’t have them,” Buckaroo Banzai said as he entered the room, “No one does. The paper files, the notebooks, the recordings- even the computer files- we got rid of them all and made sure there was no trace whatsoever.”

                “We can’t tell her that. She’ll freak.”

                “That’s a given. We’ll just have to pretend that we have it for now. Anyway, the reason I came here, Mrs. Johnson, is to see if you can get to the infirmary as quickly and quietly as you can. New Jersey needs to some help in there and we’ve been _allowed_ some movement.” His annoyance was obvious.

                Mrs. Johnson grew tense. “What happened?” she asked, not bothering to hide her concern.

                “Pinky, Rainy Day and Reno were all injured. Jersey told me they’re stable, but that he still needs some help since the wounds are still fresh and he wants to treat them as soon as possible.”

                “What’re the injuries?” Penny asked uneasily.

                “Reno’s got a head wound as a result of being struck with a gun, and he probably has a mild concussion from it. Rainy Day was shot in the leg. Pinky has a deep graze on his arm, so that’s not as big of a deal as Reno and Rainy Day. But New Jersey does need some help so that he can treat them quicker. I would go, but Peggy has a plan. Not to mention the fact that Sunshine wants to deal with me.”

                Mrs. Johnson nodded in agreement, bid farewell to both, and quickly made her way to the Institute infirmary. Penny watched and continued to look through the file cabinet she stood in front of. Buckaroo leaned against one of the sides of the cabinets and ran his hands over his face, letting out a heavy sigh. Penny took notice and looked over at her friend, boss, and brother in law; despite his usual calm and collected demeanor, the man had too much stress, and the present situation just gave him extra stress that he nor anyone else needed. She stopped what she was doing, left her arms fall at her sides, and walked over to him. As she leaned on the cabinet next to him, he crossed his arms, leaned his head back and shut his eyes.

                “Can I say something?” Penny asked gently, “It’s kinda personal candid.”

                Buckaroo let out a heavy sigh, opened his eyes and looked forward. “Yes,” he allowed, “Go ahead, Penny.”

                “Okay.” She took a deep breath. “Buckaroo Banzai, you are the saddest man I’ve ever seen in my entire life. You’re a genius and you are brilliant- but you are also a very sad man. I’ve known you a few years now and it’s been an honor to not only get to know you as my employer, but as my friend and my brother in law. But despite all your calm and happiness and even zen nature, not too deep down in you, you’re a very sad and distressed man. But I’ve noticed a change in you today.”

                He gave a look of question. “I don’t understand.”

                She gave a weak smile. “There’s a first. What I mean is that, when you came back with Peggy today- despite the confusion I felt at first- it was obvious that you were happier. A sadness seemed to lift off from you. But then, things went wrong. Today was supposed to be a day of great joy and happiness; your wife, my sister, was coming back home after so many years. Neither of you deserved to have today ruined by Sunshine. I say this because you’re a great man in so many ways, Buckaroo Banzai, and I know my sister, Peggy Simpson Banzai, is a great woman- and neither of you deserve what has happened here today.”

                Before another word could be said, Peggy Banzai entered the room and stood next to her husband, and both turned to look at her. Her eyes were red and puffy as tears ran down from her eyes down her cheeks. Buckaroo placed a gentle, loving hand on her arm. “Peggy, what’s wrong?”

                Peggy shook her head. “Nothing,” she choked out, “I’m so lucky to have you both back in my life, and I love you both so much.”

**_This story may or may not be continued…_ **

               


	12. Part One: Chapter Twelve

**_ Expect the Unexpected. Part One: Chapter Twelve. _ **

“You doing alright?” Perfect Tommy asked gently, running his hand gently up and down his partner’s arm.

Rainy Day took in a deep, sharp breath. “Yeah,” she then breathed out shakily, “I’m okay. What about Pinky and Reno? How’re they?”

He smiled. “Always putting yourself last, huh?”

“They’re doing fine,” Sidney “New Jersey” Zweibel reassured, “They’re just resting now, which is what you should be doing. They took a few painkillers to rest easier. You had the worst injury, Rainy Day, are you sure you don’t want one?”

She shook her head without hesitation. “None.”

Rainy Day was genuinely terrified of any kind of drug or needle. It was understandable, if you knew her past- and only a few did know anything about it- why she was. Before arriving at the Banzai Institute, she’d been a drug user and a drug dealer. She hadn’t given any details to anyone yet, but she’d had a life changing event that made her give it all up and start over. Her deciding to start over lead her to the Institute. And ever since her first day there, it’d been a known fact that she was terrified of drugs and needles and painkillers of any kind because of that day. She would never accept any kind, as not to risk anything or the progress she had made over the years, but instead would bear with whatever ailment she had at that moment in time.

New Jersey nodded knowingly. “I’ll be right back,” he said and walked off.

“Thank you for helping me,” Rainy Day said in a timid voice to her partner.

Perfect Tommy shrugged. “Figured I should, considering,” he teased and she laughed.

“Do you think Yvette can really help?”

He paused. “Yeah. I think she can.”

-/-/-

Red River Daddy and Lady Gillette both waited in the hall outside the recreation room. They were both leaning casually against the wall, their hands and guns at the ready. The two of them seemed bored as they waited, chatting about anything and everything that came to their minds. The two even began to flirt back and forth with one another, something the two had been doing more openly lately. Sure, people knew they were together, but they were no longer as secretive or as private as they had once been.

The sound of a door and footsteps brought them to attention. They shared a look, got their guns out and took them off of safety. They heard the footsteps get closer, as well as voices growing in volume and intensity. They gave a few silent orders to the one another, then each nodded to the other to confirm their understanding. Both stood quietly and at the ready, guns in hand and ready to be fired. Guns drawn, they came out of hiding and into the view of those who approached.

Rawhide, Khonsu-Ra and Yvette stopped dead in their tracks when they were met with guns aimed at them.

-/-/-

Rawhide had originally agree to take Sunshine to Buckaroo, but a quarter of the way there, she had changed her mind. He quickly went back to his friends and conducted a plan to save the Institute as well as the girl named Yvette. Once leaving their friends in the Institute infirmary, the three had begun to execute their plan. To do so, they would have to make their way through the Institute grounds, but be as quiet and as sneaky as possible.

Lady Gillette lowered her gun. “You nearly gave me a heart attack!” she informed in annoyed fashion.

Rawhide looked at her with wide eyes and his hand over his heart as he breathed heavily. “Gave _you_ a heart attack?!” he nearly yelled, “How do you think I feel?! Like a turkey who escaped Thanksgiving dinner?!”

Red River Daddy shifted his gaze to the ground as he began to let out a low series of laughs. This earned a look from Rawhide that shot daggers from his eyes.

Lady Gillette looked at Yvette with skeptical eyes. “Why’s she here?”

“She is on our side,” Khonsu-Ra reassured quickly.

The lady looked over her female counterpart once more, before nodding in approval. “Fine. But if you show any signs that you’re gonna turn on us again, I won’t hesitate to do what I need to protect my friends.”

Yvette nodded. “I understand.”

“You need to regain my trust. It’s not something given easily. Until you earn it back, I’m not gonna give you anything or do anything that shows I fully trust you.”

“I don’t blame you.”

“Ok,” Lady Gillette finished, “Now that that’s all settled-“ She raised her arm with the large gun in it up, “Let’s go.”

-/-/-

Buckaroo and Peggy Banzai stood together in the heart of the Banzai Institute. There had been a decided center of the Institute grounds, and in that spot was the control center of the entire Institute. The computers, the electrical systems, the lighting system, the main heating and cooling system, the music systems, and anything else that needed to be controlled in one way or another on the grounds. It was an extremely large room, one of the biggest, actually, of any of the rooms on the grounds of the Institute.

It was also the room that they were going to use to lure Sunshine into.

Buckaroo leaned against a table in the room, his palms flat on the surface of the table and his head down and gaze on the tabletop. Peggy watched him from a distance, hugging herself and shuffling her feet. She hated to see her husband the way he was. She hadn’t seen the man she loved with all of her heart for years now, and on her first day back with him, he was more stressed than he, or anyone else for that matter, needed to be. She knew that he was an extremely stressed man, and that he tried to hide it, which was something that she never liked- but she hated how stressed he’d always been. It was at those times that she had no idea what to do to comfort him or help him, and she felt it would remain this way.

Peggy stepped forward a bit. “Buckaroo?” she asked gently.

He moved his head a bit.

She walked up behind him and placed a hand on the crook of his neck and shoulder. “Buckaroo?”

It was this time that Buckaroo gave a response. His body grew tense at her touch, then relaxed. He raised his hand up and placed it on top of hers. He lifted her hand a bit before turning to face her, and she planted her hand back in its original place. He used his opposite hand to run his hand through her hair. He then pressed the lower half of his face against her forehead and hair. He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “I’m sorry,” was all he said, “I’m so sorry.”

She looked up at him. “Why’re you sorry?”

“Today. Everything. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be.”

“I know that. But it’s not your fault.”

“Peggy-“

“Buckaroo Banzai, you could not have controlled what has happened today.”

He shrugged. “I feel as though there was something I could have done to stop it from ever happening.”

Peggy let out a humorless chuckle. “How?” she questioned, “How could you have prevented this? Did you contact Sunshine and tell her to do this?”

“No.”

“Did you ask for her to try and invade the Institute?”

“No.”

“Did you do anything to make her do this, in a way that she could have refused to do?”

“No,” Buckaroo sighed.

“Right. You did _not_ bring this upon yourself. Do you understand me? You did _not_ provoke this. Now. Stop making me have to give you pep talks to do what you’re supposed to do as the leader of this Institute, do you understand?”

Buckaroo smiled and pulled her close to him. “Oh, how I’ve missed you, my Queen of the Netherlands.”

After holding his wife to him for a moment, Buckaroo let her go and went to the intercom system. The system had speakers that led to every area of the Institute and was only used for certain changes or emergencies when contacting everyone on the grounds by Go-Phone was not enough. If they were being honest, the intercom system was something that was rarely used. But, he walked over to the microphone, kept his hand near the button that turned it on, and looked at his wife. She gave an encouraging smile and a nod. He gave a weak smile back, turned back to the microphone, pressed the button that turned on the microphone, and began to speak.

-/-/-

Sunshine and Johnny-Be-Good stalked the grounds of the Institute together. They walked to the center main building of the grounds, knowing full well that the center building was the building with the files and research and anything related in that fashion. Once inside, no one questioned them on their intentions and just let them go through. Both gave satisfied smirks as they continued to walk, feeling impressed by their sudden increase from their plan.

But a voice coming from over the intercom speakers in the halls around them stopped them in their tracks and made them listen.

“ _Sunshine,”_ came over Buckaroo Banzai’s voice, “ _You and your group are no longer in control of_ my _Institute. If you don’t like that, come and do something about it. I’m in the main control room of the Institute.”_

“That,” Sunshine seethed, “That- that-“

 _“What’re you waiting for? Over and out.”_ And the intercom went dead.

Sunshine’s fists clenched as she ground her teeth together. “I’m gonna get what’s mine!” And with that, she began to run through the halls to the control room.

**_This story may or may not be continued…_ **


	13. Part One: Chapter Thirteen

**_ Expected the Unexpected. Part One: Chapter Thirteen. _ **

                Buckaroo Banzai turned around and leaned against the system, crossing his arms and letting out a breath. Peggy Banzai walked and stood next to him and leaned against his arm. They both savored the contact, not wanting to be deprived of each other’s touch ever again.

                “Probably not the kind of day you imagined, right?” Buckaroo asked with a forced chuckle.

                Peggy shrugged. “I don’t know,” she answered honestly, “Definitely not the kind of day I wanted- having to fight for my home. Sure, I knew I’d have to at some point, but not on my first day back home. Just really unexpected, I guess.”

                “Expect the unexpected, right?”

                She gave an amused smile. “Right.”

-/-/-

                Big Norse and Billy Travers sat at the computers in the main computer lab of the Institute. They kept watchful eyes on the system and the screens, as well as kept their guard up. Granted, they’d had no more threats or hacks by way of computers, but now the two had to work to try and clear the entire system of any bugs, viruses, and anything else that might have invaded their system. Was it a lot for two people? You bet your behind it was- but they were the only two people who were available at the present moment to do it, not to mention most qualified.

                They both nearly jumped out of their skins were the door of the room opened and closed suddenly behind them. They both turned quickly, their guns at the ready, their bodies tense.

                Lady Gillette quickly threw her hands in the air. “It’s just us!” she quickly cleared, already beginning to lower her hands back to her sides, “Billy, Big Norse, it’s just us.”

                Lady Gillette, Red River Daddy, Rawhide, Khonsu-Ra and Yvette stood in the room, growing less tense with the two guns now being lowered. Big Norse brought her gun down to her side and rolled her eyes. “You all wanna give us heart attacks, don’t you?!” she asked angrily.

                Billy’s jaw dropped and nearly dropped the floor. “Oh my…” he mumbled as his eyes got wide and his face grew pale, almost as if he had just seen a ghost.

                Yvette felt her cheeks turn red as Billy stared at her. She crossed her arms over her chest and begun to hug herself protectively, tucking a few strands of hair behind her ears in a shy manner. Everyone in the room who knew their background- and even those who didn’t- grew quiet as the tension in the room multiplied to about one thousand times one thousand with each moment that passed.

                Billy and Yvette had dated for a long time. A _long_ time. They arrived at the Institute within one month of each other and had dated since. They had gotten serious in a short amount of time, so serious that friends of the two wondered and even placed non-monetary bets on when the two would announce their engagement of marriage. Right around the time that Billy had begun to ask his friends about marriage and how to go about proposing to her, that was when Yvette had suddenly resigned from her internship, breaking his heart in the process.

                “Yvette,” Billy breathed out, “What’re you doing here?”

                “I,” Yvette hesitated.

                “She was with Sunshine, _by force_ ,” Rawhide answered for her, “She’s with us again.”

                “She’s gonna help us get rid of Sunshine and the rest of her crew,” Lady Gillette added.

                Yvette had her head down slightly, but kept her gaze up and on her former love. “Is that alright with you?” she asked timidly.

                Billy took a deep breath. “Uh… yeah. Yeah, fine.”

                Red River Daddy, Lady Gillette, Rawhide, Big Norse and Khonsu-Ra exchanged looks of uncertainty.

-/-/-

                In the infirmary, Pinky Carruthers, Reno Nevada, Pecos, and Perfect Tommy got their gear on. Sidney “New Jersey” Zweibel and Mrs. Eunice Johnson gave looks and comments of disapproval. Rainy Day shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Despite the protests being made, the four continued to ready their weapons without saying a way or uttering a sound.

                “Reno,” New Jersey sighed, “You _really_ shouldn’t be doing this with your concussion.”

                Reno looked up at him. “You said yourself that it wasn’t terrible,” he argued.

                Mrs. Johnson glared. “Yeah, and I got a cracked plate in the kitchen in the bunkhouse near breaking point, but you don’t see me using it,” she snapped, “Pecos, how are you ok with this?”

                Pecos shrugged almost nonchalantly. “I’ll be with him,” she answered in a neutral tone of voice.

                Mrs. Johnson looked to her last ounce of possible support. “What do you think?”

                Rainy Day’s cheeks began to turn pink out of embarrassment from all attention being turned to her so suddenly. “I’m not a fan of them going,” she began timidly, “But I also want these people outta here.”

                “We’ll be careful, Eunice,” Pinky tried to reassure, “Aren’t we always?”

                She snorted and rolled her eyes. “Never! Oh, just go, damnit! But I swear on my husband’s grave, if you four get seriously hurt doing this, I’ll kill you all myself!”

                “You heard her, gang,” Perfect Tommy called. He leaned over and shared a kiss with Rainy Day, making her cheeks turn as red as a fire engine as he turned to face the group once more. “Let’s get our control and our Institute back.”

-/-/-

                Peggy shifted uncomfortably in her position against the wall. She kept an unsure watch on her husband as he contacted all of the Hong Kong Cavaliers. After receiving confirmation that they were all on their way, she watched as he began to pace again. He ran his hands over his face, walked over to  a desk in the room, and pulled out a journal.

                “You know,” Buckaroo began to say as he flipped through the pages of the journal in an absentminded daze, “Sunshine is the reason I stopped everything we had going on with genetic engineering.”

                “Why did she do what she did?” Peggy asked curiously.

                “We all have different theories- but they all have the same root.”

                “Which was?”

                “Hanoi Xan.”

                Peggy shivered at the name and her face seemed to grow pale. “Oh…”

                Buckaroo noticed the sudden change in his wife and frowned deeply. “Peggy, I,” he muttered, “I didn’t mean to-“

                “I’m ok,” she tried to reassure; her defense was brought down by the shaking of her voice.

                It was in that moment that Buckaroo finally got an answer regarding his wife. Peggy had been taken by Xan and held by him for years and, just like he suspected, it obviously hadn’t been good. He wanted to know what she had gone through, but at the same time, didn’t want to ask and make her relive everything. He didn’t want her to bury everything inside and hide and make like everything was ok and nothing happened.

                For the first time in a long time, he didn’t know what to do.

                Regarding Peggy, she felt helpless. Ever since she had been found in the desert by her friends and family, she felt a brighter and stronger ray of hope- one that seemed dim all those years. Upon reaching the hospital, she refused mental analyzation to a certain extent, saying the only neurologist she trusted was her husband. She chose to be brave and act like nothing was wrong. She blocked out the bad as best she could and tried to focus on the present- the good in her life that had finally returned. But she had realized that, with just one name, all the bad could come back into her head like a wave- and that wave was taking her over and bringing her under.

                Buckaroo walked over to his wife and took her in his arms. She didn’t even realize he had until she felt two arms around her. “It’s all over now,” he tried to assure gently, “He won’t get you again.”

                Peggy leaned into him and shut her eyes. “How can you be so sure?” she asked in a whisper.

                “I’m not letting him. Not again.”

                Before either could say another word, there was a knock on the door. Buckaroo and Peggy looked at the door suddenly, frozen. It opened and in came Rawhide, Perfect Tommy, Red River Daddy, Reno Nevada, Pecos, Lady Gillette, Big Norse, Pinky Carruthers, Billy Travers, Penny Priddy, Khonsu-Ra and Yvette. The reunited couple’s bodies relaxed. The door was closed behind them and locked, leaving them at least one moment of calm before the storm that they all knew was approaching.

                “You two ok in here?” Rawhide asked in a gentle and cautious way.

                “Yes,” Peggy muttered, wiping at her eyes, but staying close to her husband.

                “Yeah,” Buckaroo sighed, “Yeah, we’re good. Where’s New Jersey, Rainy Day and Mrs. Johnson?”

                “Still back at the infirmary,” Pinky answered, “Rainy Day wasn’t in condition to be moved, according to Jersey, cause of the bullet she took to her leg.” Perfect Tommy frowned at his answer, but quickly recovered in a forced manner.

                “How about your head, Reno?”

                Reno shrugged. “I got a concussion that hurts like hell,” he answered honestly, “But I’ll live.”

                Buckaroo gave an amused smile; he knew his Cavaliers to a t, that was for sure, and he wasn’t surprised one bit by the answer and the present of his writer friend.

                But that smile faded where there was a loud, pounding knock coming from the other side of the door. “Dr. Banzai, open this door before I bust it open myself like a jar of pickles!” Sunshine demanded.

                “Well,” Perfect Tommy whispered, “At least she’s got the decency to give you the chance to open the door before she decides to tear it up like Jack Nicholson in _The Shining_.”

                “Yeah, she’s the definition of ladylike behavior,” Lady Gillette commented sarcastically.

“There she is, Miss America,” Pecos began to tease, “There she is, your ideal. The dream of a million girls who are more than pretty can come true in Atlantic City.”

“For she may turn out to be the Queen of femininity,” all those in the room finished in unison.

**_This story may or may not be continued…_ **


	14. Part One: Chapter Fourteen

**_ Expect the Unexpected _ **

**_ Part One: Chapter Fourteen _ **

                Sunshine waltzed into the room like she owned the place. JJ, Johnny-Be-Good, and the rest of their crew followed her in. Their heads, as well as their guns, were raised and forward. They occupied half of the large control room and blocked the door. It was obvious in their formation that they were blocking the way for anyone to leave, as well as enter the room. She gave a pleasant smirk at her adversaries.

                They Hong Kong Cavaliers showed now fear. It was obvious that Sunshine was _not_ happy about that. She had tried to hide her anger with a smirk- but that smirk was a bit too forced, and her ears a bit too red. Those of the Banzai Institute noticed this and gave looks of pure amusement, making Sunshine’s anger and displeasure increase. And of course, the Hong Kong Cavaliers being who they were and the way they were, of course, their sense of amusement grew at her anger.

                “Great to see you again, Sunshine,” Perfect Tommy greeted sarcastically, “Shoot anyone else lately?”

                Sunshine made a face at his remark. “Ha, ha. Very funny,” she mocked.

                Tommy’s anger now grew. “You think it’s funny that Rainy Day’s in the infirmary, a hole in her leg where your bullet was?” His question came out in a growl, and Rawhide took hold of his arm to prevent him from lunging at her.

                Sunshine looked hurt. “You think I like to shoot people?”

                “No,” Rawhide shrugged, “Just to experiment on them and change their DNA almost to the point where it’s nearly impossible to be repaired.”

                She fumed. “ _Enough!”_ She then took a deep breath in an attempt to regain her composure. “I just want my research. Once I have it all, I’ll be out of your hair. I promise.”

                “I can’t do that, Sunshine,” Buckaroo Banzai answered in a flat tone.

                “What are you? Hal from _2001: A Space Odyssey?”_

                Buckaroo’s face remained blank. “I’m serious, Sunshine. I can’t give you your research.”

                “And why’s that?”

                “It’s gone.”

                “ _What?!”_ Sunshine yelled in sudden anger and panic, “What do you mean it’s _gone?!”_

                He stepped closer to her, as if her was challenging her; he kept his calm disposition, though, something she seemed incapable of doing at the present time. “We burned it, Sunshine. Every single paper, notebook, computer file- everything. We destroyed it all as if none of it was ever done.”

                She seethed. “Why would you do such a _stupid_ thing like that, _Dr. Banzai?”_ Her tone was mocking.

                “To keep it away from people like you.”

                Sunshine let out a laugh that held no humor but was filled with venom. “You know, Dr. Banzai, I always thought you were smarter than that. I guess I thought wrong. Cause I worked _hard_ on that research. _Too_ hard just to have you all simply _throw_ it away. And my boss, he won’t be happy to hear that it’s gone.”

                Buckaroo’s eyes challenged her. “You think I don’t know who your current employer is? You think I don’t know who made you do what you did?”

                Sunshine felt a spark of fear in the pit of her stomach. Trying to prevent that spark from making its way to her face, she kept a look made of stone on. She felt it falter ever so slightly, but tried to cover it as quickly as she possibly could. She was aware of the fact those she was currently facing wouldn’t miss her facial expression soften and grow less intense at the words of her former employer, even if it was for less than a second. This fact in itself intimidated her to an extent, but she did her best to ignore all of this as not to appear full of fear.

                Sunshine put on her bravest face. “And that doesn’t worry you in the slightest?” she asked, forcing her voice to be strong and full of power, as well as forcing a smirk to lace her lips once more.

                Buckaroo’s face seemed to be made of unbreakable stone, but his eyes showed a brave fire. “You think I’m afraid Hanoi Xan?” he asked her, the mentioned name made Peggy’s back tingle in fear, but she showed the same confidence that her husband did, not letting their enemy sense her reaction.

                “You should be. Cause both ioned name made Peggy’s back tingle in fear, but she showed the same confidence that her husband did, not letting their enemy sense her reaction.

                “You should be. Cause both _you_ and _your wife_ know what he’s capable of, Dr. Banzai. And so do the rest of your Hong Kong Cavaliers.”

                He shook his head. “I have no reason to be afraid of Xan. Especially in this case.”

                “Oh? And why is that?”

                He took another step closer; her heart began to beat a little quicker. “ _You’re_ the one who’s working for Xan. He hired _you_ for _your_ research- that has nothing to do with me, other than the fact that your original research was because I had put you in charge of it. Therefore, he’d think me foolish to do such a thing as to even help him. All you did was all of your own research, despite my original instructions. Xan didn’t hire you to get the research from _me,_ but rather for _you_ to get _your_ or research. That has nothing to do with me.”

                Sunshine’s face began to show fear but she did her best to continue to ignore it. “But _you’re_ the one who had _my_ research,” she tried.

                “Xan wouldn’t want to hear you say that,” Buckaroo said flatly.

                “Why?”

                “He wouldn’t like the idea of you letting me destroy the research. The idea of you having no way to get it all back for him would not end well for you. And you know what else?”

                “What?”

                “He wouldn’t hesitate to use all of that as a reason to kill you the very next time you and him are standing in the same room.”

                His final statement made Sunshine’s face fall and her skin to become pale. Any confidence she once had now ran from her and hid away. She mentally cursed herself, knowing that her show of emotion would cost her. She had already been under the thumb of Hanoi Xan for too long- she could not be under Buckaroo Banzai’s thumb, too. That’s why she’d fallen for Xan’s game; she felt too pushed down by the thumb of _The Great Buckaroo Banzai._ She would not be crushed anymore.

                “And the worst part is,” Buckaroo continued to say, “That you already know this.”

                Sunshine quickly switched her gaze from the ground to her former employer. There were no traces of vengeance on his face, but it more looked like he was… concerned. Why would he be concerned for her? Especially after all that she had done?

                Either way, she did known that he was right. She knew that if she walked off the grounds of the Banzai Institute with nothing to given Xan, she’d be dead the moment she walked back into Xan’s chamber. Hell, probably the moment she stepped into the headquarters for the World Crime League. Coming upon this realization, she was no longer embarrassed about letting the Hong Kong Cavaliers see her act fade away.

                Sunshine put her gun down and instructed those with her to do the same. “You’re right,” she agreed as her shoulders slumped.

                Peggy walked forward. “There is a solution,” she announced, “Buckaroo, we discussed this, remember?”

                Sunshine looked up, hope on her face. “What?”

                Buckaroo nodded. “Don’t go back to Xan. Not physically, anyway. Instead of dying at his hands, the Banzai Institute would take you into custody, with help from the proper authorities- possibly the FBI or the White House. Once we have everything taken care of, we’ll somehow let Xan known that you won’t be going back and that there is no longer a trace of your research. The rest of you would be dealt with accordingly.”

                “Won’t he be mad?”

                “Enraged. But he won’t know where any of you are. Therefore, he can’t get to you. Now, he might still look for you, but he might realize that he has other things that are of more importance after a will, and just give up on the search for you all. He might even try to find another scientist to repeat your efforts.”

                “What if he does?”

                “We’ll cross that bridge when we get there. What’s important is _all_ of your protection, but still having you all taken into proper custody for all that’s happened. Because even though we want to keep you all as far away as possible from Xan, you still invaded my Institute, injured people, destroyed multiple rooms and filing cabinets, as well as experiments, and threated us multiple times today. Not to mention the fact that you hacked into our systems. Taking all of that into consideration, what we all think we should do is better than letting you all die at the hands of Hanoi Xan and the World Crime League. So with all of that said- do we have a deal?”

                Sunshine turned around to talk with those who were with her. A moment later, she turned around and everyone surrendered their weapons. “We have a deal,” she agreed.

                The Banzai Institute contacted the FBI not long after that. Multiple agents came and charged Sunshine and her crew, then took them into custody. The then were taken to be processed at their headquarters, and to be fully dealt with upon their arrival.

**_This story may or may not be continued…_ **


	15. Part One: Chapter Fifteen

**_Expect the Unexpected. Part One: Chapter Fifteen._ **

                It took a total of two days to clean up the mess and recalibrate the systems all over the grounds of the Banzai Institute. Papers had been refiled. Furniture had been reorganized. Spills were cleaned up. Experiments and their research had been cleaned up and put back the way they were, or would begin over again. Repairs had been made. The plants and shrubbery replanted. Technology recalibrated and reset. Injuries taken care of and in the process of healing.

                And thankfully for the Hong Kong Cavaliers, the recreation room and the garden had been left untouched in the attack.

-/-/-

                Three days after the attack, those of the Banzai Institute- both resident and intern- all sat in the cafeteria, enjoying a breakfast prepared by Mrs. Eunice Johnson and her kitchen staff, just like they did every morning. Peggy Banzai, Lady Gillette, Penny Priddy, Big Norse, Mrs. Johnson, Pecos and Rainy Day all sat together at one of the tables. The interns and residents all began to leave the cafeteria to start their jobs and studies all at nine that morning, but the women all stayed in place. When Peggy tried to retreat from the table, the girls all pulled her back down into her chair.

                Peggy glanced around at the woman she sat with questioningly. “What’s going on?” she asked hesitantly.

                “We all have a surprise for you today,” Pecos stated simply.

                Peggy frowned, disappointed. “I’d love to spend time with you girls, but me and Buckaroo had plans-“

                “Oh, you two still have plans today,” Lady Gillette interrupted, “But not what _you_ two planned.”

                “We’re taking you to get a new dress!” Big Norse squealed happily.

                “A new dress? I don’t-“

                “That’s ok,” Mrs. Johnson reassured, “You’ll get it soon. Now let’s get going.”

                Before she could attempt to protest any more, Peggy was whisked away before she could even blink.

-/-/-

                “ _Buckaroo Banzai!”_

                The man in question jumped, uncharacteristically, startled by the calling of his name. He had been in his lab, dissecting a braid that had been diseased by a brain tumor; unfortunately for the former owner of the brain, the tumor had been cancerous. The scientist and doctor jumped where he stood at the examination table, knocking over the microscope in front of him, unintentionally throwing his pen from his hand behind hand, and hitting his head on a nearby wall cabinet.

                “Oooh,” Perfect Tommy cringed, “That backfired.”

                “No kidding,” Reno Nevada scoffed, back-handing the younger man’s shoulder.

                Buckaroo took off his glasses, let out a deep breath, and began to rub his head in an attempt to soothe his injury. “To what do I owe the displeasure of this painful meeting, gentlemen?” he asked, the sarcasm obvious in his voice.

                Perfect Tommy frowned. “I don’t appreciate that tone, considering what we’re doing.”

                Buckaroo glared for a moment. “And I don’t appreciate the bump forming on my head.”

                The younger man’s cheeks turned pink, but he quickly recovered as if nothing happened. “We’re having a Dude’s-Morning-Out!”

                “I’ll translate,” Red River Daddy cut in, “We’re spending the morning and afternoon together to help you prepare for something we’ve all planned for tonight.”

                “Look, guys,” Buckaroo tried, “Even though I don’t fully known what you’re all planning, I appreciate the thought. But I wanted to finish my research this afternoon before I go out with Peggy later on.”

                “Well,” Rawhide mused, “This involves Peggy. Not till later, though.”

                “You pretty much have no choice in this,” Pinky Carruthers interjected.

                Before he could utter another word of protest, Buckaroo was dragged away from his work and out of the lab.

-/-/-

                Throughout the morning and the afternoon, both Buckaroo and Peggy were dragged around by their friends. She’d been taken to a shop that sold wedding dresses, as well as gowns for bridesmaids. He’d been taken to a store that sold and rented suits and tuxedos accordingly. Neither quite knew why they were there, but both decided to just go along with it all and humor their friends; Peggy chose a simple wedding dress with a layer of lace for decoration over the skirt and torso, a sweetheart neckline, and laced sleeves that ended just at her forearm; Buckaroo chose a three piece tuxedo with a fire engine red vest, a matching red tie, navy blue jacket and pants, and a white shirt. The bridesmaid equivalent dressed were a toned down red, while the groomsmen wore red button up shirts with navy blue vests and ties.

                There was a ten minute gap in between the return of both groups to the Banzai Institute, one that was planned. As each group took their outfits to their own areas of the Institute, both Banzai’s finally questioned their friends what in the world was going on.

                It was Rawhide and Mrs. Johnson who explained to Buckaroo and Peggy what was happening.

                Since their original wedding day hadn’t gone quite as planned, they’d all arranged a new ceremony and reception at the Institute for them. It was more like a ceremony of renewing vows, since they were still technically married cause she’d never actually passed away like they originally had thought she did, and since he never remarried. Either way, they deserved a makeup wedding and ceremony in celebration of their love and their union of marriage, no questions asked.

                And with that, both were willingly whisked away to finish getting ready for their wedding.

-/-/-

                Buckaroo stood at the top of the aisle with his hands folded in front of him. Professor Hikita stood with him, a smile on his face. A small band of interns had been organized to play the music for the march; one sat at a keyboard piano, one stood with a guitar in hand, another sat at a small drum set to keep time. The trio played “Since I Don’t Have You”.

                The wedding party began its procession up the aisle. First up was Pinky Carruthers and Big Norse; then Red River Daddy and Lady Gillette; Reno Nevada and Pecos; Sidney “New Jersey” Zweibel and Penny Priddy; Perfect Tommy with Rainy Day on a pair of crutches; and finally, Rawhide as the best man walked with Mrs. Eunice Johnson as the maid of honor. Khonsu-Ra sat with Billy Travers and Yvette in the first row.

                When Peggy stood at the opposite end of the aisle as the crowd who watched stood to see her, Buckaroo felt his eyes began to tear up a bit. He cleared his throat as he tried to keep his composure, but he let his smile stay and grow. She felt her face glow red as she smiled and began to walk up the aisle to stand at his side.

                During the ceremony, those of the wedding party chose to sit down in the front row, rather than stand with them the entire time; it was mostly due to Rainy Day sitting to help heal her leg, and them not wanting her to feel bad about being the only one of them sitting. Nearly every intern, resident, and Blue Blaze Irregular (who could make it) occupied the seats. Despite not knowing the bride quite as well as they did the groom- for understandable reasons- each guest knew the story of their original wedding, and felt joy and happiness that filled the air of the room.

                “And now,” Professor Tohichi Hikita said toward the end, “Would the bride and groom like to share any words or vows?” Both nodded. He looked to Buckaroo. “You may go first.”

                “Peggy,” Buckaroo tried to begin, a smile on his face as he did so, “My Queen of the Netherlands. These years without you seem like a bad dream, and like I woke up and they never happened. Either way, you came back to me, and I’m not quite sure if you’ll know how much it actually means to me that you’re back. And, as pointed out by a dear friend and colleague-“ He shot a quick glance at Mrs. Johnson. “-I shouldn’t question it, but rather savor and cherish this second chance that I have with you. I promise to keep you safe; to love you; to take care of you; and to never let you go again. And I’ll try not to keep you awake at night working on theories, experiments, songs, or anything else of the sort.”

                Peggy chuckled at his last statement. “Buckaroo,” she sighed happily, “I can’t even begin to say how much you’ve done for me all these years. In college, you encouraged me to keep going; you helped me to do all I could and not give up when it got too hard. You taught me what it’s like to love, and what it’s like to be loved. These last couple of years have _not_ been easy, but knowing in my heart that I’d come back home to my friends and my family, and knowing that you’d be here waiting for me- that’s what kept me going. I promise to love you with all of my heart, even when it seems hard- which, when you’re working so much, is common. I promise to support you in all your endeavors; to be there when you need me, and even when you don’t feel like dealing with me for whatever reason. I promise to keep hold of you like my life depended on it, and to never leave you again. And I’ll try not to get so mad when you _do_ keep me up at night while you work.”

                Professor Hikita smiled at the vows exchanged by the two. “You may now exchange rings. Rawhide?” The cowboy stood from his seat and gave the rings before returning to his seat next to Big Norse. Buckaroo and Peggy did as instructed. “With that, I pronounce you Man and Wife. You may kiss your bride.”

                Buckaroo quickly took Peggy in his arms. She cupped his chin, while he placed his hands gently at the back of her neck. Their lips met, causing clapping, cheering and whistling to be heard from the guests.

**_End of part one._ **

**_Stay tuned for part two, coming soon._ **


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